A judge has ruled that nearly £20m is to be paid out to 16 survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing who were children at the time of the tragedy.

Twenty-two people were murdered and hundreds injured in the suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May, 2017.

Amounts of between £2,770 and £11.4m were agreed at a hearing on Thursday at the Manchester Civil Courts of Justice for 16 youngsters, all aged under 16 at the time of the attack.

The total amount to be paid comes in at £19,928,150.

Some of the youngsters suffered “catastrophic” and life-changing injuries, and others suffered psychological damage after 22-year-old Salman Abedi detonated a backpack bomb leaving the concert.

The claims were made against, and will be paid by, the defendants in the case – those responsible for the safe and secure running of the arena event.

Those contributing to the settlement include: SMG Europe Holdings, which managed the venue; Showsec International Ltd, responsible for crowd management; and British Transport Police (BTP) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP), responsible for policing the area.

A public inquiry into the bombing, led by Sir John Saunders, found that chances to prevent the attack had been missed, and also noted “serious shortcomings” in security and individual failings.

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On Thursday, Judge Nigel Bird approved the 16 claims – agreed between their lawyers and the defendants – as they all involved children or those without mental capacity.

The 16 survivors and their families cannot be identified, due to a court order.

It is understood that following the hearing, claims by another 352 people, all adults deemed to have capacity, including the families of the 22 who lost loved ones, will now be agreed between lawyers for the claimants and the defendants.

Those agreements have been made out-of-court, so no details of any public money to be paid out by public bodies BTP and GMP have been made public.

The four organisations have apologised to the bereaved families and to the survivors, lawyers for the claimants said, and have admitted their failures.

Judge Bird told the hearing: “Each of these cases has a common link, that is injuries and loss suffered, arising out of a single and unimaginable act of terrorism committed on the evening of May 22 2017 at the end of a concert attended by very many young people and their families.”

“The love and care a parent gives to an injured child is beyond monetary value,” he added.

Judge Bird also paid tribute to the “courage, dedication and fortitude” of the families involved in each case, adding: “Each through their quiet determination has brought about promises of change in the hope that in the future, other families need not go through what they have been through.”

After the hearing, a joint statement was issued from the legal teams at Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter, the three main firms representing the claimants.

The statement said: “This is not a day of celebration. It is a moment to acknowledge the mistakes that were made and the unimaginable suffering our clients have endured over the past eight and a half years.

“We now expect all parties to honour their commitment to do what they can to prevent those same mistakes from happening again.”

Martyn’s Law, named in memory of Martyn Hett, 29, who was killed in the attack, has since been implemented, to better protect public venues from terror attacks.

Reports a female MSP had a secret recording device planted in her office by a member of her own staff are “completely and utterly unacceptable”, SNP leader John Swinney has said.

Scottish parliament officials are investigating the alleged bugging incident by a man, which is said to have taken place in 2023 at Holyrood.

The Scotsman newspaper reported the staffer is still involved with the SNP and moved on to work with a male MP after the issue came to light.

Sky News has yet to independently verify the details, but one senior party source with knowledge of events has said it is “100% true”.

The source alleges “the SNP did nothing; indeed he simply got moved and continued to be promoted by very senior members of executive”.

It is suggested the female MSP, who has not been publicly named, is liked, rated and respected by her colleagues.

First Minister Mr Swinney was stopped by reporters in Edinburgh on Thursday where he said he was “not familiar with all of the details… but that type of conduct is completely and utterly unacceptable”.

“Individuals are entitled to operate in an open and transparent environment that shouldn’t be subjected to that kind of behaviour,” he concluded.

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MPs and MSPs employ staff directly, rather than the political party.

Sky sources confirmed the victims of the incident had to get counselling in the aftermath before suggesting the SNP “definitely has a woman problem”.

The source claims it is “not a one-off incident”, adding: “Women are habitually treated differently.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “The SNP has no involvement in the employment processes of parliamentarians. That is a confidential matter between elected members, employees, and Scottish parliament authorities.

“The reports outline a very traumatic situation for those involved and nobody should ever have to experience fear or harassment for doing their job.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “These jaw-dropping revelations pose serious questions for the SNP top brass.

“It appears a grave breach of privacy and potentially criminal behaviour has been swept under the carpet by the SNP.

“Once again it looks like the SNP chose to close ranks and protect their own, rather than dealing with serious misconduct head-on.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish parliament said: “Each MSP is an employer in their own right and is responsible for managing staff welfare issues and employment disputes.

“Complaints about staff conduct are investigated by an independent adviser, and it is for the member to act on their findings accordingly.

“As a matter of standard practice, we do not comment upon or confirm any individual cases.”

The family of a teenage boy who took his own life after being blackmailed on Instagram are suing the platform’s owner Meta.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.

Murray Dowey, from Dunblane in Scotland, was just 16 years old when he became a victim of online sextortion in December 2023.

His parents, Mark and Ros Dowey, have now launched legal action against Meta in a US court alongside another family amid claims the tech giant failed to protect children on its platforms.

Lawyers are alleging the company “knew of safety features that would prevent sextortion” but instead “prioritised profit”.

Mrs Dowey told Sky News there is a “growing army of parents” who have suffered “unimaginable pain” due to social media platforms.

She added: “We’ve lost the most precious thing. We’ve got nothing left to lose.

“We will see this through to the end because the worst thing that could happen to us has already happened.”

Meta, which also owns Facebook, branded sextortion a “horrific crime” and said it supports law enforcement to prosecute the criminals behind it.

The firm added: “We continue to fight them on our apps on multiple fronts.”

It is believed Murray was exploited by criminals in West Africa, who posed as a young girl.

The teenager was tricked into sending intimate images of himself and was told they would be exposed to his family if he failed to pay.

Mrs Dowey branded the scammers “scum”.

She added: “Murray was absolutely fine when he went up to his room that night. He was talking about going to football the next day, talking about his holiday with his friends.

“It literally happened in the space of a few hours in his bedroom where he should have been the safest.

“There was no opportunity for us to intervene or notice something was wrong because he didn’t come through for whatever reason.

“He went from absolutely fine to dead the next morning.”

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Mrs Dowey described her son as a “lovely, funny, kind boy who had everything to live for”.

The Stirling Albion FC supporter loved going out with his friends and was expected to go on to university after secondary school.

Mrs Dowey said: “We’re just all devastated. He’s got an older and a younger brother, so he was the middle peacemaker between them.

“Everything we do, we’re aware there’s a seat empty that should be Murray. And that’s going to be for the rest of our lives as his brothers graduate, as they get married, as they have children.

“It’s been horrific to have gone from a completely normal family to having to live with this for the rest of our lives.”

The lawsuit has been filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre (SMVLC).

The Doweys have been named alongside Tricia Maciejewski, from Pennsylvania, whose son Levi took his own life at the age of 13.

Meta highlighted a number of its safety features which aims to combat potentially suspicious adults and potential sextortion accounts, which includes a new block and report option in DMs.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “Since 2021, we’ve placed teens under 16 into private accounts when they sign up for Instagram, which means they have to approve any new followers.

“We work to prevent accounts showing suspicious behaviour from following teens and avoid recommending teens to them.

“We also take other precautionary steps, like blurring potentially sensitive images sent in DMs and reminding teens of the risks of sharing them, and letting people know when they’re chatting to someone who may be in a different country.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.