London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Former suspect who bought chemicals for Manchester Arena bomber had citizenship returned after MI5 reversal

Former suspect who bought chemicals for Manchester Arena bomber had citizenship returned after MI5 reversal

A man suspected of aiding the Manchester Arena bomber was stripped of his British citizenship but had it returned after the government dropped a court case on the advice of the MI5 intelligence agency, the BBC reported on Saturday.
Mohammed Soliman, 26, was arrested by Libyan authorities after a tipoff from British security services, which discovered that he had bought 10 liters of sulphuric acid online for Hashem Abedi, the bomber’s brother.

The news was revealed as part of the public inquiry into the 2017 attack carried out by Salman Abedi, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds.

After Soliman was stripped of his British citizenship and arrested in Libya, he was detained for eight months and claimed he faced ill-treatment in prison.

The 26-year-old maintains that he did not intentionally help the Abedi brothers in the attack, and bought the chemicals after he was told that Hashem needed it for “legitimate reasons.”

MI5, which oversaw investigations into the attack and is responsible for monitoring and foiling terror plots, was criticized in the public inquiry for failing to prevent the bombing.

MI5 has claimed that the Abedi brothers acted alone in the bombing, but the inquiry has suggested that they approached several friends and acquaintances to request the purchase of chemicals in the lead-up to the attack.

Soliman, who worked in a restaurant with Hashem, was approached and bought 10 liters of sulphuric acid, which was delivered to his home months before the attack in May 2017.

Police raided his home following the attack and discovered remnants of the chemicals, but Soliman had traveled to the Libyan city of Benghazi a month earlier to visit family.

Following his arrest and detainment in Libya, he was not questioned by British police or MI5 about his potential role in the bombing.

He had his citizenship returned in 2021 by Priti Patel, then home secretary, after raising an appeal.

The BBC reported that the U-turn came on the advice of MI5, which had concluded that the Abedi brothers had acted alone — without having questioned Soliman.

However, Soliman returned to the UK in 2021 and was immediately arrested, but later released after questioning.

In a witness statement, he claimed that Hashem had encouraged him to allow the brothers use of his bank account to buy engine oil.

Soliman said: “I was not aware and did not suspect that Hashem and/or Salman planned to attack any location or person or carry out any form of terrorist attack.”

He added that his visit to Libya to see family was already booked prior to the bombing. He was informed by police that he would not face any charges.

A day after the bombing, Hashem was arrested in Libya after his brother, who died in the attack, was named.

He was transferred to the UK in 2019 after claiming that he had been tortured while in Libyan detention, and was sentenced a year later to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 55 years.

Victims’ families told the BBC that if Soliman had remained in the UK, he would likely have been sentenced alongside Hashem.

Caroline Curry, whose 19-year-old son died in the bombing, said a detective had told her that Soliman “would have been alongside him (Hashem), charged with 22 counts of murder.”

The Home Office said in a statement: “The government, working with our world-class police and security and intelligence agencies, will always take strongest action possible to protect national security and public safety.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×