(BBC) Investigating terror attacks like the Manchester bombing can feel like being “repeatedly punched in the face,” a counter-terrorism officer has said.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu was the UK’s senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism at the time of the 2017 atrocity, which left 22 dead.
He was alerted to the attack at 22:55 GMT, 25 minutes after the blast as fans left the Ariana Grande concert.
Mr Basu told the inquiry into the bombing that it is “unbelievably hard.”
He said: “Dealing with one of these incidents is like being repeatedly punched in the face and then placed on the ground and repeatedly kicked.”
