THE younger brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been remanded in custody following a brief court hearing.

Hashem Abedi is accused of 22 counts of murder, including the killing of Whalley mother-of-three Michelle Kiss, in the May 2017 attack.

Abedi, 22, appeared at Oxford Crown Court via a video link from Belmarsh Prison, where he is being held after being extradited from Libya.

He is also charged with one offence of attempted murder, covering the remaining 260 victims of the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert .

Prosecutors have also charged him with conspiring with his brother Salman to cause explosions.

This includes making both successful and unsuccessful attempts to buy bomb-making chemicals and assisting in buying a Nissan Micra to store device components.

He is also alleged to have made detonator tubes for use in the explosive.

Abedi, who wore a grey jumper and glasses, spoke only to confirm his name at the start of the 10-minute hearing. Mr Justice Sweeney ordered Abedi to be remanded in custody ahead of a preliminary hearing, to be held at either Oxford or the Old Bailey on July 30.