UK PM Theresa May Pledges To Cover All Manchester Arena Attack Costs

After Manchester City Council had pointed out that the UK government’s initial financial aid in the May 22 aftermath had been insufficient, Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to cover all costs, which could be up to £28 million (about $37 million).  

AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth – Pray For Manchester
A couple embrace one day after the Manchester attack May 23 under a billboard in England.

The UK government initially pledged £12 million ($16 million) toward the costs that incurred in the wake of the May 22 bomb attack on Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert to cover authority and emergency services.

According to Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham, the help was “inconclusive and that is not good enough.” He posted a letter from the prime minister detailing the financial support on Twitter.

Burnham added, “the costs relating to the Manchester Arena attack should be reimbursed in full by the government.” According to the mayor, £17.5 million ($23 million) had already been spent, and at least £10.4 million ($13.8 million) more may be needed.

He got his way. May has now pledged that “Manchester will get the financial support it needs, and if that costs £28 million, as Burnham has estimated, then that is what we will make available.”

To oversee this process and “expedite payments when necessary,” May established a taskforce dedicated to Manchester over the weekend.

“It will co-ordinate the cross-government response, pulling together the work of the Home Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice,” May explained in a statement.

Burnham responded, “we will work constructively with the taskforce to achieve a fair resolution,” and thanked the prime minister on Twitter.

In her statement, May also said, “the terror attack in Manchester was one of the darkest moments in the city’s history. Twenty-two people were killed in a brutal act of hatred deliberately aimed at innocent children on what should have been one of the best nights of their young lives.”

“In the hours, days and weeks that followed the Arena bombing, the spirit of Manchester shone out in defiance of an attack designed to destroy lives and devastate a community.

“I promised in the wake of that appalling atrocity this Government would do all it could to help victims recover and the city to heal. I repeat that commitment today. Where your public services have had to bear, or will bear, unexpected and exceptional costs in coping with this terrible attack, these will be met by the Government.”

SMG Europe, which runs Manchester Arena, UK Music CEO Michael Dugher and industry body Live Music Group chairman Paul Latham declined Pollstar’s request for comment.