Man, 24, is arrested at airport for terror offences by detectives investigating the Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 concert-goers By Rachael Bunyan For Mailonline Published: 17:54 BST, 22 October 2021 | Updated: 18:03 BST, 22 October 2021 A 24-year-old man has been arrested at an airport by detectives investigating the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. Greater Manchester Police said the man, who is from the Fallowfield area of Manchester, was arrested at Manchester Airport on Friday shortly after arriving back in the UK. He was detained on suspicion of engaging in the preparation of acts of terrorism/assisting others in acts of preparation under section 5 of the Terrorism Act (2006). A total of 22 people, many of them children, died in the terror attack at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017. The senior investigating officer for the investigation, Simon Barraclough, said: 'Greater Manchester Police remains firmly committed to establishing the truth surrounding the circumstances of the terror attack at the Manchester Arena - whether that is by supporting the on-going public inquiry or by continuing to pursue leads with regards to the criminal investigation. 'Over four years have passed since the atrocity took place but we are unwavering in our dedication to follow each line of enquiry available so that we can provide all those affected by the events at the arena with the answers they rightly deserve.' The arrest comes after grieving families of the terror attack spoke of their 'horror' that Ismail Abedi, 28, the elder brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi was allowed to leave the country a day after police stopped him at the airport Ismail Abedi flew out of the UK a day after he was stopped at Manchester Airport by police, the public inquiry into the May 2017 terror attack heard. Officers used powers under counter-terrorism laws to question him for six hours, which caused him to miss his flight on August 28. However, his lawyers have said Ismail Abedi successfully boarded a plane at the same airport the next day and has not returned to the UK since. Ismail Abedi had been called to give 'highly important' evidence on Thursday to explain how Salman, 22, and his 24-year-old brother Hashem - jailed for life after he aided the plot - became radicalised. In a statement from eleven of the bereaved families, read outside court on Thursday by Shane Smith from law firm Slater & Gordon, they said: 'We are appalled to learn that Ismail Abedi left the country in August, having been stopped at the airport once before. 'We want to put on record our horror that Ismail Abedi could be allowed to leave the country in the face of an upcoming appearance at a statutory inquiry which he had been ordered to attend. 'We are shocked that this can have been allowed to happen and we note the inquiry are seeking urgent clarification on this. 'Despite professing his innocence and claiming to disassociate himself from radical ideology and terrorism, he consciously chose not to attend today. A man who had genuinely rejected extremism would want to help the search for truth and would have been here today. 'Ismail Abedi is clearly not such a person but has taken the coward's way out.' This is a breaking news story, more to follow... Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility