2,000 calls logged in hunt for Manchester bombers

MANCHESTER police were still interviewing witnesses yesterday who may have seen two IRA men leaving a half-tonne lorry bomb in…

MANCHESTER police were still interviewing witnesses yesterday who may have seen two IRA men leaving a half-tonne lorry bomb in the city centre, which injured 206 people.

Officers have received 2,000 or more calls from the public after issuing "detailed" descriptions of the men and a computer picture of a third, who bought the lorry in Peterborough 24 hours before the bomb exploded last Saturday.

The taxi-driver, who delivered £2,000 sterling to buy the lorry for the IRA man, broke his silence yesterday and described his fear of reprisal.

Mr Shabir Khan said he would never forget the Irish man.

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"I know I am the only person to come eyeball-to-eyeball with this terrorist. What if the IRA come after me? I'm a simple family man. I don't want any trouble. But it was my duty to tell the police," he added.

Mr Khan said the man had dictated the delivery address and he had "no idea" the package contained money. "He had a-sort of baby face. But it's those eyes that stick in my mind. They looked so sinister. Although I only saw him for a minute, that's what I'll remember all my life," he added.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people packed Manchester Cathedral on Saturday for a special service of peace and reconciliation.

Victims were in tears during the service as the youngest member of the cathedral choir, Megan Garrity (10), sang a special hymn, Let There Be Peace.