London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Manchester Arena survivors to take 'disaster troll' to court

Manchester Arena survivors to take 'disaster troll' to court

Manchester Arena bomb survivors have filed landmark legal action against a conspiracy theorist who claims the attack was faked.

Martin and Eve Hibbert, who were left with severe disabilities after the 2017 blast, are suing Richard D Hall for defamation and harassment.

It is the first time such action has been launched in the UK against a conspiracy theorist.

Mr Hall did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

Martin Hibbert was paralysed from the waist down and his daughter Eve left severely disabled by the Manchester Arena blast which killed 22 people in 2017.

Last October, a Radio 4 podcast series and BBC Panorama investigation revealed they are among victims targeted by conspiracy theorist Richard D Hall, who has described online how he tracks down survivors to their homes and workplaces to see if they are lying about their injuries.

Mr Hall admitted to the BBC that he spied on Miss Hibbert from a vehicle parked outside her home.

He has also described his tactics in a book he sells, and has promoted theories online that several other UK terror attacks were staged.

Now, the family is seeking an injunction to restrain Mr Hall from making similar allegations in future and damages for some of the harm he has caused them.

The case echoes the action against US conspiracist Alex Jones, who was ordered to pay nearly $1.5bn by a US court to families of the US Sandy Hook school shooting after falsely claiming the 2012 attack was a hoax.

"Martin can be seen as a pioneering trailblazer for others to follow if they feel so minded," his lawyer Neil Hudgell said.

Mr Hibbert hopes the action will finally stop Mr Hall and set a UK precedent to help protect other people who survive disasters from these conspiracies and tactics.

"It does sometimes feel like a bit of a weight, so it would be nice to be able to put it to bed and just be able to move on with our lives," he said.

Marianna Spring confronts Richard Hall


Following the BBC's investigation, Mr Hall's YouTube channel, with over 80,000 followers, was removed and his market stall closed. However, his books and DVDs featuring false claims about terror attacks are still for sale on his website, along with videos about the Manchester Arena Attack.

In December, Mr Hall created a new "True Crime" section on his site listing various events and high-profile deaths, including the recent disappearance of 45-year-old Nicola Bulley.

Mr Hall's defiant response to the BBC investigation and the initial letter from Mr Hibbert's legal team suggests he is yet to change his mind on these conspiracy theories. He continues to defend the book he has written claiming the Manchester Arena attack was staged.

He also says he has received online death threats as a result of the investigation.

But terror attack survivors have also reported that incidents of trolling and conspiracy theories seem to have reduced since it was publicised.

The BBC approached Mr Hall again after the legal case was officially filed, but he did not respond to our request for comment. During the original investigation, when he was confronted at his market stall, he insisted the BBC was wrong about how he operates.

Manchester's Mayor, Andy Burnham, has met Mr Hibbert to discuss campaigning for a new law that could better protect survivors of tragedies from harassment and conspiracy theories.

But such legislation would not be straightforward - social media sites and policy makers have been grappling with hate and disinformation online for some time, with no simple solutions.

"It is always difficult to change the law, and it doesn't happen overnight," Mr Burnham said. "But most people will see the case for this because of the appalling nature of targeting people in this way."

The UK is currently introducing new legislation - the online safety bill - that will mean social media sites have to make commitments to the regulator Ofcom, stating they will protect users.

But there has been lots of debate over how far it will go and it has avoided directly addressing disinformation and abuse targeting adults online due to fears about freedom of expression.

This kind of legislation could face the same opposition.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×