Manchester Arena bombing suspect Hashem Abedi cost taxpayers £123k to be extradited back to Britain
MANCHESTER bombing prime suspect Hashem Abedi cost taxpayers £123,000 to bring back to Britain, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
The staggering sum was spent by Scotland Yard on chartering a plane to fly Abedi - brother of suicide bomber Salman, 22 - to the UK from Libya in July.
Home Office chiefs picked up the tab for the flight, which took place only after diplomats brokered an extradition deal with Libyan officials.
But the total bill is likely to be far higher, with UK authorities working for more than two years to secure safe passage for the suspect.
It comes after we told in August how Hashem has been granted legal aid for lawyers in his court fight while families of the victims had been denied
state cash for representation at the bombing inquests.
Hashem, now 22, faces murder charges over the 22 people killed in the May 2017 blast at an Ariana Grande gig at the Manchester Arena.
A further 260 were injured.
He is also charged with attempted murder and conspiring to cause explosions.
Last month Hashem appeared at the Old Bailey, speaking only to confirm his name.
He was not asked to enter a plea.
Hashem is alleged to have obtained chemicals needed for making the bomb. He was arrested by Libyan authorities soon after the atrocity.
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But an extradition bid proved difficult because of the civil war raging in the North African country.
The Met said it did not hold information relating to legal or staff costs run up by the extradition process.
Sources say the £123,000 cost will be for chartering the plane from a private company and also for at least two or three pilot crew.
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