THE families of victims of the attacks will be at the forefront of people's minds the leader of the council has said.

Cllr Rishi Shori, praised the solidarity of the community after the attack, remembering the emotional vigil which took place in Whitehead Gardens. He noted the rise in hate crime but said he wanted Bury to be known as the friendliest borough in Greater Manchester.

Cllr Shori said: "As we approach the anniversary of the arena attack first and foremost our thoughts are with the families of John Atkinson and Olivia Campbell-Hardy during this very difficult time.

"Throughout the planning of all the commemorative events, families of lost ones have been forefront.

"Catastrophic events often bring people together, and the arena attack certainly highlighted the compassion, care and strength of Bury people. Over 1,000 people of all ages, race and religion attended the vigil we organised in Whitehead Gardens. There were no barriers of background — simply solidarity as we gathered to support those affected, and each other. It is that event that I think summarises the character of Bury — it’s the people who make the place.

"As the last 12 months have unfolded, we cannot get away from the fact that there has been a rise in hate crime since the arena attack and I want to be very clear as leader for Bury Council that we take a zero tolerance approach to hate crime. In fact we have been very vocal about this through promoting events such as hate crime week in February.

"We are a borough that makes everyone feel welcome, no matter who we are and there was no better display of that than Bury Pride.

"We tend to do things differently in Bury — and we go the extra mile to make sure that everyone feels equally heard and included. This was evidenced in the latest Stonewall results where we ranked as the third highest local authority in supporting and promoting gender equality.

"We want to be known as Greater Manchester’s friendliest borough and I would say we are making strides forward in achieving that. The arena attack probably pushed us to work even more closely together to tackle hate crime, on a Greater Manchester level with the mayor, and locally in Bury.

"Our neighbourhood levels of working are key to this. We are working with our communities even more than ever — and as I say time and time again, together we are stronger.

"Partnership working is key to making Bury a safe, supportive place to live and over the next year we will be deepening these neighbourhood relationships."