Counter terror police investigating Hashem Abedi’s latest prison attack

Dear readers — it’s another Monday, and while this one isn’t looking down the barrel of a glorious week of weather, it’s one of just four days most of us will be working. So take some comfort in that and enjoy this week’s briefing —  the usual must-have round-up of news, culture, reads and events you know and (we hope) love — before we dive into another week of rich, varied features and longreads. Speaking of…

Catch up and coming up

• It’s been a good week for our freelance writers. Regular Mill contributor David Rudlin wrote us a piece on why Manchester actively fought against UNESCO World Heritage status — which would have placed us quite rightly alongside the Taj Mahal and the Great Barrier Reef in terms of wonder-of-the-worldom. Were we right to reject the title? Members can join the conversation here.
• And other regular Mill contributor Daniel Dylan Wray wrote about the forgotten precursor to Factory Records: the Manchester Musicians Collective. From free jazz to The Fall, this collective had it all, and it might have even come up with the riff for a particular Manchester anthem…
• Coming up this week is more work from our staff writers, starting with a piece by Jack Dulhanty covering a harrowing inquest that concluded last week, with a jury finding that a suicide on a Manchester mental health ward was contributed to by neglect.
• And over the weekend Ophira and Jack (that’s our editor Jack this time) went on the piss in Royton for the sake of quality long-form journalism, and Ophira will be telling us all about it for our weekend read. Is Royton really the new nightlife hotspot that the Oldham Chronicle claims it to be? You’ll soon find out.

How cities hold the answer to global resilience

National governments and international organisations are struggling to respond to cascading global crises. Hatred and extremism are on the rise. In this context, city leaders across the world are stepping into the gap to provide leadership and unite communities.

The recent Stronger Cities conference, held in Manchester, brought together leaders from Philadelphia to Oslo to debate these questions. Manchester Building Society, one of the event sponsors, believes that a key way to strengthen cities is by ensuring that money made and saved locally is invested in the local community. In partnership with Forever Manchester and Salford YouthZone they have donated significant funding to build community resilience and opportunity. The Society is also committed to financial services that are delivered face to face in local branches, building financial resilience for communities through informed education, and creating jobs for local people.

You can read more about the Stronger Cities conference here, and sign up here to stay in the loop for the Manchester Building Society launch in the summer.

This post was sponsored by Manchester Building Society

This week’s weather

Tuesday🌦️ Cloudy with intermittent light rain and drizzle. Feeling fresh. Max 12°c.

Wednesday🌧️ Breezy with outbreaks of heavy rain, which will gradually clear to leave a brighter afternoon. Max 12°c.

Thursday🌦️ Milder with bright spells and scattered showers. Breezy once again. Max 14°c.

Friday🌦️ Early rain then mostly dry with a few bright spells. Max 14°c.

Weekend🌦️ Mixed weather with showers at times and average temperatures for the time of year. Often breezy.

We get our weekly forecast from Manchester Weather.

Your briefing

⛓️Counter terror police are investigating how Hashem Abedi, brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi, managed to stab and scald three prison officers at HMP Frankland over the weekend. It’s thought that Abedi fashioned blades out of baking trays from the prison’s kitchen, and hoarded packs of butter that he then melted down into hot oil. Abedi was sentenced to a minimum of 55 years in prison in 2020 for his role in planning the 2017 attack, and was found guilty of attacking two prison officers in Belmarsh in 2022. Questions have been raised about why he — as a prisoner in a separation centre for extremist inmates — was allowed access to cooking facilities. “We must now review the freedoms we allow separation centre prisoners to have,” Mark Fairhurst, the chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said.

👮‍♂️ Claims of “two-tiered” policing in response to the riots across the UK last summer are “entirely baseless”, according to a new parliamentary report. We were on the ground in Southport last year, the day after 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana launched a stabbing attack killing three young girls. A mosque was pelted with assorted missiles and a police van was burnt to a husk, while nearly 30 officers ended up in hospital with injuries. From there, rioting spread across the country, with hotels housing asylum seekers attacked in Rotherham and Tamworth and violent scenes and looting in Manchester. In response, Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised the “far right” and rapid-fire justice commenced — hundreds of arrests were made and many jail sentences handed out. While most polling showed that the British public favoured a remorseless approach to those who had engaged in rioting, dissenting voices on the right argued that the white protestors were being treated more harshly by police because of their politics (chief among them, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who labelled Starmer “two-tier Keir” during a late night tweeting session). The new report, produced by parliament’s cross-party home affairs select committee, which can be read in full here, rubbishes those claims, saying: “Those participating in disorder were not policed more strongly because of their supposed political views but because they were throwing missiles, assaulting police officers and committing arson”.

🐚 Twelve aboriginal Australian shell dolls have been given to the Manchester Museum — under the condition that children be allowed to play with them once a year. The dadikwakwa-kwa, as they are called, were created by women from the Anindilyakwa community, traditional owners of the Groote archipelago, and they are considered to be living entities carrying the spirits of their ancestors. When asked about potential damage to the shell dolls, Manchester Museum curator Alex Alderba said that “for the dadikwakwa-kwa you need to see more wear on them in order to see that they’ve been cared for. Year after year, you’re going to see how they change and you’re going to see how much love they have.” There’s more information on how to book a slot to play with the dadikwakwa-kwa in our To Do list further down.

🎓Andy Burnham wants to give apprentices the “university experience”, by offering them halls of residence. It’s part of the mayor’s broader drive to create “an equal alternative” for young people who don’t want to go to university, which has included creating the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc), “an equally-prestigious alternative for technical education”. Burnham says the accommodation plans — called “Our House”, reports the MEN — will give MBacc students and other apprentices “the same rite of passage as those who take an academic route – leaving home and living independently with their peers”.

🍻The Schooner Scorer — an influencer who has amassed over 300,000 followers by downing pints and rating them out of 10 — has been in and around Manchester this past week. His videos rely on hammed up catchphrases (“this one’s going down the hole like a homesick mole” etc) and some shaky camera work presumably designed to distract you from the fact you’re just watching a guy drink a beer. Nevertheless, the scorer — nee Alex Hendy — gave Mulligans on Deansgate a 9.2/10 for its Guinness, which will probably inspire the landlord to put the price up to £9.20 to match (it’s already at £7.70). If posh influencers downing drinks is your thing, you should read this piece by our sister title in London about a visit to their most recent Christmas party. 

Quick hits

🐍 A new veterinary practice is opening next week in Urmston — and not just any vets, but the first in the North of England to specialise in exotic animals. This is a much needed addition to Greater Manchester, as according to this dangerous animal mapper we are already home to a Broad-Snouted Caiman in Bury, and there’s a Capuchin Monkey and a Lynx living side-by-side in Salford. Rest easy now with the knowledge that, should these creatures fall ill, they can receive the specialised treatment they require over in Trafford.

🚨 John Mansfield, who was jailed for life in 2007 for the murder of Ann Alfanso in Whalley Range, has been found dead in HMP Whitemoor. A murder investigation is currently underway.

🍀 The Chorlton Irish Club has once again been put up for sale, just four years after it was saved from threat of closure. The club was founded back in 1956 in order to provide a meeting place for the Irish community in South Manchester. The current owners are looking for offers over £1m.

🏃‍♀️ Last thing: seeing we won’t be publishing next Monday, we’d like to take the chance to wish Libby Dulhanty and Milly McDermott luck in their marathons later this month. Sisters to our writer Jack and operations manager Maisy, they’re both raising money for Manchester charities: Libby for the Brain and Spinal Injury Centre in Salford, and Milly for Mustard Tree.

Home of the week

A balcony indoors? It’s like living at the Trafford Centre! This two-beder in the city centre was built for all year round al fresco dining — it costs £300,000.

Our favourite reads

Alzheimer’s expert was treated like a heretic … until now — The Times

For years, Ruth Itzhaki, emeritus professor at the University of Manchester, felt like a “heretic” being burned “at the stake”. Her research looked at whether Alzheimer’s could be triggered by viruses, contravening the scientific consensus around the disease. But things are starting to change. Recent studies have found that the shingles vaccine appears to cut dementia risk, giving credence to Itzhaki’s theory. “We were considered crazy, the brain was thought to be sterile,” she says now, and while her theory is still a theory, questions are finally being raised around whether other hypotheses around what causes these diseases have been neglected.

‘This isn’t how I saw my life going’ - Manchester’s most outspoken headteacher steps down — Manchester Evening News

Glyn Potts, headteacher at Newman RC College, in Chadderton, “has become a familiar face,” as the outspoken head who has tried to shine a light on the realities of inner-city schooling, from knife crime to children vaping. But now, he is taking a step back for his health. “Basically the lifestyle of being a headteacher is not consistent with being here to see my son grow up and having a long life seeing him do all the things I want to see,” he says. “I have nightmares about not being around for him.” Potts was also the subject of a longread in the Financial Times about the struggles of British state schools.

Adolescence: How a Sheffield film company made the world’s most watched drama — The Tribune

Adolescence, currently Netflix’s — indeed the world’s — biggest show, was produced by Warp Films, a small production company based in Sheffield that, two years ago, was about to go to the wall. “We were probably two months away from literally turning the lights off,” the firm’s CEO told The Tribune, our sister newspaper in Sheffield. Dan Hayes traces Warp’s story, from producing short films with the likes of Chris Morris, to Dead Man’s Shoes starring Paddy Considine, This Is England with Stephen Graham and finally Adolescence, watched by 100 million people and top of the Netflix chart in 80 countries.

Our to do list

Tuesday

🐷 As it’s the Easter holidays, we’ve made sure to include at least one child-friendly event per day. Tomorrow, HOME cinema is showing a screening of Babe — the story of a pig from over the county lines, which shockingly celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

📚 And for our not-as-family-friendly one, Manchester-born author Abigail Dean is heading to Serenity Booksellers in Stockport to chat about her latest novel, The Death of Us.

Wednesday

🖌️ For the kids: the Whitworth is hosting two free activities for children, inspired by J.M.W Turner. Under 7’s can attend the Outdoor Art Club, which includes a mud painting studio and potion workshop, and over 7’s can head to Clore Garden Studio to paint their own Turner-style landscapes.

🍷And some art for the adults: Bruk in Stockport’s underbank are putting on a Drawing From Sound event. DJ Jed Wilson-Salt will dictate the mood with the tunes, and attendees are invited to draw what they feel.

Thursday

🐸 For £8, kids can go along to the Merseyway Workshop (in Stockport) and paint a pretty fantastic little ceramic frog, judging from the event picture.

🐚 And if you read our briefing item about the aboriginal shell dolls and have always wanted to let your child play with spirits in shell form, then you can book a slot for them to play with the dadikwakwa-kwa here. It’s free!

Got a To Do that’s not in bloody Stockport? Tell us about it here.