Families of 22 people killed in Manchester Arena terror attack to receive £250,000 compensation each

Those bereaved have already been able to claim £70,000 from the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, set up in the wake of the attack on May 22, and the charity's trustees have now announced they will be eligible for a further £180,000.

The latest round of payments from the fund will mean more than half of the £18m raised will have been distributed, including £3.5m to those injured in the atrocity.

Trustees of the fund, which has provided access to free financial counselling for the bereaved families, will next decide how and when to distribute the rest of the money.

Councillor Sue Murphy, chair of the trustees of the fund, said: "The city and the world responded with such extreme kindness, generosity and solidarity in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack.

"Thanks to this we have raised more than £18m and we were conscious that we had to get some of swiftly this to those with immediate needs.

"We have therefore given a around third of the total to the bereaved families and £3.5m to those who were hospitalised after the attack.

"In total this means we have allocated over half of the existing money already. We will now spend some time looking at how we will distribute the rest of the funds.

"This will be a complex and sensitive process as we will need to assess the long-term impacts of the attack. We will issue an update as soon as we know more."

Those affected can also apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.