Mental Health Awareness: 'Forgiveness stops my soul being hijacked' says mum of Arena bombing victim

• Figen Murray spoke to Granada Reports presenter Gamal Fahnbulleh in an extended interview

A mother who lost her son in the Manchester Arena terror attack says she forgives suicide bomber Salman Abedi to "protect her soul".

Figen Murray's son, Martyn Hett, 29, died in the explosion on 22 May 2017.

She has said on the record that she forgives bomber Salman Abedi and his accomplice Hashem Abedi.

She also says she forgives MI5 and the emergency services for their failures to prevent and respond to the attack.

Speaking about her family's first reaction to her decision to forgive Salman Abedi, Figen said: "Initially they were a little bit puzzled.

"I then explained why it was so important to me. Gradually they came round to why it was so important that I did what I did."

• An abridged version of Figen's interview

However, she says forgiveness does not mean she feels sorry for the Abedi brothers.

She said: "Empathy is totally different to forgiveness. What he did was wrong, very clearly and he is being punished in prison for it.

"Forgiveness is not for him it's for me. It's for me to free my soul from being hijacked with negativity and anger."

Figen admits that her forgiveness has helped her own family respond to the attack.

She said: "One of my daughters said to me, had I not responded in the way I did - they don't feel they would have been ok in themselves.

"My husband chipped in said he's already got a stressful job, had I come home to you being angry every day it would have been a disaster."

• Figen Murray gave her reaction after the final part of the Manchester Arena Inquiry was released

Asked what advice she would give to someone who may be struggling to forgive, Figen said: "My advice would be search your soul. Forgiveness is not condoning what the other person did.

"It's about you protecting your soul from badness."

Six years on from the Manchester Arena terror attack a report has revealed nearly a third of young survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing have received no professional support.

When asked what she had learnt about her own mental health in the last six years, Figen said: "I've learnt I'm resilient that I thought I had been.

"There were times I thought that was the end of me, I'm going to be destroyed by this. I realised through the forgiveness, it took that burden away from me.

"I've learnt that I have so much inner resource that I hadn't tapped into before. It's really important for the rest of my family too, because if I don't function, they don't function."

Manchester Arena victim's support organisations

• Manchester Attack Support, a website set up by Manchester City Council to help those affected find appropriate support

• The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation, provides support for survivors of terrorism and programmes to promote peace in schools and communities

• National Emergencies Trust, provides support to those affected by UK emergencies at their time of greatest need

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