Rufus Hound has been forced to apologise for suggesting Theresa May let the Manchester bombing happen to boost her poll ratings.
The comedian had picked up on a now-deleted tweet from someone else which said:
“Given that the attacker was known to MI5, the timing seems fortunate for May that an attack ‘slips through’ as Labour are making progress...”
Hound then added his own commentary with the hashtag #reichstagFire in reference to the arson attack on the German Parliament building in 1933 gave Hitler the justification to brutally crack down on his political opponents.
The backlash to the tweet was immediate.
Hound responded to the criticism but didn’t back down from his criticism of the Government.
Again, his comments were widely condemned.
Hound continued, apparently taken aback by the reaction to his suggestion.
But it was not enough to placate his critics.
Hound's representatives have been contacted for comment.
Twenty-two people were killed and dozens seriously injured when Abedi, 22, detonated a device as fans left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.
Britain’s terror threat level has been raised to “critical” meaning an attack my be imminent.
- Three men were arrested after police executed warrants in south Manchester, while officers entered an address in the city centre using a controlled explosion on Wednesday afternoon.
- Three further arrests included a man carrying a suspect package in Wigan, a woman following an armed raid at a block of flats in Blackley, north Manchester, and a man at an address in Nuneaton, taking the total in custody in the UK to seven.
- Sky News said it had obtained CCTV images which showed Abedi at Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre on Friday after he bought the rucksack used in the attack.
- Cheshire Police confirmed that one of its female officers died while off-duty at the concert but have not named her.
- Almost 1,000 military personnel were being deployed around the country, including to key sites such as Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, after the official terror threat assessment was raised to critical, the highest level, indicating that a further attack may be
- France’s interior minister disclosed that the bomber is believed to have travelled to Syria and claimed he had “proven” links with Islamic State (IS), which has claimed the
- Claims emerged in America, reported by NBC News, that members of the bomber’s family had warned security officials Abedi was “dangerous”.
- Management for US singer Grande, whose concert had just finished when the bomb went off, said her world tour including upcoming gigs at the O2 in London had been postponed.
- The Government announced that a minute’s silence will be held at 11am on Thursday in remembrance of those who died or were affected by the attack.