Two survivors of the Manchester Arena attack were today awarded a total of £45,000 in damages after suing a former TV producer who claims the attack was staged.

Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall for harassment after Hall alleged it was a state-orchestrated hoax, with both men implicated as “crisis actors”.

The Hibberts suffered life-changing injuries during the May 2017 concert, with Mr Hibbert suffering a spinal cord injury and Miss Hibbert facing serious brain damage.

Mr Hall made his statements in several videos and in a book, and argued that his actions – including filming Miss Hibbert outside her home – were in the public interest as a journalist and that “millions of people bought a lie” about the attack.

In a 63-page High Court judgment released on October 23, Justice Steyn ruled in favor of the Hibberts and described Mr Hall’s behavior as “a negligent, even reckless, abuse of media freedom “.

She added that the trained engineer had “blinders in his belief that the false story he told was true”.

Martin and Eve Hibbert (pictured) suffered life-changing injuries in the Manchester Arena explosion

Richard Hall at the High Court in London during a three-and-a-half day trial in July

Today, at another hearing, the judge said Mr Hibbert and his daughter would each receive £22,500 in damages.

Jonathan Price, on behalf of both men, said Mr Hall’s behavior went “towards the more oppressive end of the spectrum of harassing behaviour”.

He continued in his written submissions: “In a series of widely viewed videos, in a print publication, as well as in in-person conferences, Defendant has insisted that the terrorist attack in which Plaintiffs been seriously injured had not occurred and that the plaintiffs were participants or “crisis actors” in a state-orchestrated hoax, who had repeatedly, publicly and blatantly lied to the public for monetary gain. »

Mr Price had said a total of £75,000 in damages should be awarded to the two men, as well as at least 90 per cent of their legal costs.

Paul Oakley, on behalf of Mr Hall, said in written submissions that £7,500 each in damages “would be appropriate”, adding that there was “no justification” for aggravated damages.

Richard Hall is pictured setting up a camera to try to support his claim that survivor Eve Hibbert faked her injuries.

Richard Hall even went to Eve Hibbert’s home and set up a camera disguised as fake plant foliage that he planned to use to see if she could walk.

“There is no allegation of malice and that is really a fundamental point as far as damages are concerned,” he told the court.

“Some of these instances of harassment can get quite nasty, but there was no retaliation.”

Mr. Oakley later said the suggested injunction was too broad, describing it as “a blanket ban” on all of Mr. Hall’s output, and called the Hibberts’ estimated costs “breathtaking.”

The lawyer said in his written submissions: “Mr Hall’s work was ‘not’ about the claimants, who featured only minimally in his entire recorded and written output.

“At best, those portions of Mr. Hall’s work that concern Plaintiffs can be redacted, but no more.”

Martin Hibbert makes a statement to the High Court in London during the trial on July 25

Mr Oakley also said Mr Hall should be awarded costs after a data protection claim from the Hibberts was not pursued.

In her judgment delivered last month, Judge Steyn added: “For years he repeatedly published false allegations, based on the flimsiest of analytical techniques, and rejecting the obvious and tragic reality that so many ordinary people face. testified.

“He published his allegations widely, on various platforms, over several years, to viewers and readers in this jurisdiction, probably numbering more than 100,000.”

“He did so for profit, although I accept his evidence that the financial benefit to him was only sufficient to enable him to continue his work.” All of these behaviors have a natural tendency to cause serious distress, especially when the people targeted are vulnerable.

Martin Hibbert is pictured in a wheelchair outside the High Court during the trial on July 22.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds when he detonated the pipe bomb in a crowd of spectators at an Ariana Grand concert.

The court heard the Hibberts were among the people closest to him at the time of the explosion.

The judge said in her ruling that by the time Mr. Hall published his book and some videos, the bomber’s brother, Hashem Abedi, had been convicted, “and yet Mr. Hall paid no attention to the facts which demonstrated that the jury had found proof.” criminal standard”.

Ms Justice Steyn continued: “Mr Hall has published and continues to publish his false allegations despite the attack being the subject of extensive investigations, a criminal trial and authoritative reports which, according to anyone, reasonable, command respect.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.

“Mr. Hall’s posts are not only false, but they also lack any semblance of balance.”

At a trial in July, the court heard Mr Hibbert received 22 shrapnel wounds and Miss Hibbert suffered a “catastrophic brain injury” after a bomb flash hit her to the head – making her presumed dead at the scene.

Ms Justice Steyn said it was clear that Mr Hall’s actions, including “increasingly intrusive and offensive posts”, had alarmed and distressed Mr Hibbert and that finding Miss Hibbert at his home constituted a unjustified interference with the family’s right to privacy.

She added: “Mr Hall knew that Mr Hibbert had said that his teenage daughter, who he had taken to the concert, had been hit in the head by a bolt propelled by the explosion and that she had been very seriously injured.

“He also knew that her family protected her from any media attention.

The victims of the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017 were (top row, left to right) Elaine McIver, 43, Saffie-Rose Roussos, 8, Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, (second row, left to right) Nell Jones, 14, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, Megan Hurley, 15, Georgina Callander, 18 (third row, left to right), Chloe Rutherford, 17, Liam Curry, 19, Courtney Boyle, 19, and Philip Tron, 32 (fourth row, left to right) John Atkinson, 26, Martyn Hett, 29, Kelly Brewster, 32, Angelika Klis, 39 (fifth row, left to right) Marcin Klis, 42, Michelle Kiss, 45, Alison Howe, 45, and Lisa Lees, 43 (fifth row, left to right) Wendy Fawell, 50 and Jane Tweddle , 51 years old

“On the information available, it should have been obvious to any journalist – even one very skeptical of the ‘official story’ – that Eve was to be treated as a vulnerable young person who had been taken and seriously injured in a traumatic incident.

Martin Hibbert called last month’s ruling an “overall victory”, adding: “I am really pleased not only with the overall judgment, but also with the judge’s many comments about the unacceptable nature of Hall’s behavior.” »

He also said he hoped for an injunction, adding: “I want this to open the door for change and help protect others from what we experienced in the future.”

“I will discuss this with my legal team at Hudgell Solicitors, with the aim of establishing new law in Eve’s name.”