A Bolton dad is to appear in a BBC documentary tonight (October 31) to discuss how he was targeted by a conspiracy theorist after surviving a terror attack.

Martin Hibbert will appear on BBC Panorama’s Disaster Deniers: Hunting the Trolls, to tell his story.

An investigation by BBC Panorama and Radio 4 podcasts has uncovered that conspiracy theorists, who claim UK terror attacks have been staged, are tracking down survivors to their homes and workplaces to see if they are lying about their injuries.

The film follows the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring as she speaks to survivors of UK terror attacks, as well as conspiracy theorists who have targeted them, to uncover how and why these conspiracy theories have gained traction.

Mr Hibbert is a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack.

Mr Hibbert and his daughter Eve, who was 14 at the time, were the closest people to the blast to survive the 2017 terror attack, in which 22 people and the bomber were killed.

Mr Hibbert was left paralysed from the waist down following the attack, and his daughter Eve, now 20, has been left severely disabled due to a brain injury.

Mr Hibbert suffered 22 shrapnel wounds including one which hit the centre of his back and totally severed his spinal cord.

He said where he was standing had meant he shielded Eve from the blast but one bolt got past him and struck her which caused a “very significant” brain injury, “almost like she had been shot through the head”

Mr Hibbert said: “Even today I give myself a hard time and say I failed as a dad and I’ve not done my job.

“I always told Eve that whenever she is with me she is safe.”

He spoke to Panorama about how he and his family have been targeted by a conspiracy theorist called Richard D Hall.

The conspiracy theorist, based in Wales, has described how he physically tracks down survivors of the Manchester arena attack to determine whether it was staged.

Hall suggests that those who were killed are alive and living abroad.

He profits from selling books and DVDs outlining his theories that terror attacks were staged, as well as speaking at events and posting videos online. 

As recently as mid-October, he had more than 16 million views and 80,000 subscribers on YouTube.

In a video shared with his followers online, Hall demonstrates setting up a camera to film Eve to see whether she can in fact walk.

Hall later said online that Eve left the house in a wheelchair, but added, “there’s no evidence” that the injury was as a result of the attack.

Mr Hibbert is preparing to bring libel action against Hall.

He said: “Effectively he’s calling me a liar and that I wasn’t there.

“I'm all for freedom of speech, but it crosses the line when you’re saying I'm an actor or I've not got a spinal cord injury or Eve's not disabled, she’s not in a wheelchair.

“If you’re saying what you’re saying then you need to have concrete evidence.

“I want to show him the videos that prove what we have been through and hopefully it will shut Hall up.”

The Bolton News: Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve, who was 14 at the time of the attack in May 2017 (Image: Public)Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve, who was 14 at the time of the attack in May 2017 (Image: Public) (Image: Public)

The investigation reveals how conspiracy theories and tactics like those of Hall are emblematic of a wider phenomenon that survivors and bereaved families are experiencing.

Messages show how online abuse, citing conspiracies that Hall and others promote, have also been sent to the grieving relatives of those killed in the Manchester Arena bombing, as well as survivors of other UK terror attacks.

There have been attempts by online trolls to identify where terror survivors live and work.

Professor Bobby Duffy from King’s College London's Policy Institute, who led the research into the popularity of conspiracy theories about UK terror attacks, told the BBC that “belief [in these conspiracy theories] is higher among those who rely on social media and messaging services for their information about news and events.”

He fears that those who believe these theories are more likely to target survivors with abuse. 

The research suggests that the pandemic has created a “gateway” for these conspiracies, with a third of people surveyed saying it has made them more suspicious of official explanations of terror attacks. Professor Duffy expects the current economic climate to exacerbate this tendency.

BBC Panorama, Disaster Deniers: Hunting the Trolls Monday 31 October 8pm BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

A 10-part Radio 4 podcast by the BBC’s Disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring, Disaster Trolls is available on BBC Sounds from Monday 31 October and broadcasts at 9.45am on Radio from Monday 31 October.