The parents of the youngest person to die in the Manchester Arena terror attack have given an emotional interview in which they said they feel “stuck” and “insulted” by the government’s offer of £11,000 in compensation.
Saffie Roussos, eight, was among 22 people killed when a bomb exploded at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
Her mother Lisa, who also attended the concert, and father Andrew Roussos, said it “feels like yesterday” that Saffie died and they feel “stuck in 2017”.
Remembering the moment when Salman Abedi detonated a device on 22 May, Lisa told the BBC: “I remember leaving and Saffie grabbing my hand and jumping about … My arm was outstretched as she was pulling me and all of a sudden I just hit the floor with a thud.”
Ms Roussos spent six weeks in a coma and woke up to learn of Saffie’s death. “I knew... I just knew,” she said. “I thought; if I’m this badly hurt and she was a tiny eight-year-old, then what chance would she have?”
Ms Roussos learned to walk again but suffers from nerve damage and numbness in her hand.
The couple says the government’s offer of £5,500 each in compensation, which is the maximum amount, is a “complete insult”.
As the anniversary of Saffie’s death approaches, the parents are launching a charity, named MCR 22, to help support families affected by terror attacks. “A charity needs to be there to help victims of terrorism,” Mr Roussos said. “There’s no help.”
The couple plan to launch the charity by taking part in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday. Ms Roussos said preparing for the run had let her “look further into the future” than she normally does.
A permanent memorial to the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena bombing will be located near a cathedral close to the scene of the attack, Manchester City Council confirmed in March.
