The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has admitted his involvement in planning the attack for the first time.
Hashem Abedi, 23, was jailed for murdering the 22 people who were killed in the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
During his trial, Hashem denied helping his brother Salman, 22, plan the attack that also left hundreds more injured.
But a public inquiry into the bombing heard Hashem Abedi had made the admission in prison in October.
The inquiry heard how during an interview with inquiry lawyers, he admitted he had "played a full part and a knowing part in the planning and preparation for the arena attack", in which his brother also died.
The 23-year-old's admission was confirmed to the inquiry by Det Ch Supt Simon Barraclough, from Greater Manchester Police, who was the senior investigating officer on the case.
Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry, said to him: "You are aware, on 22 October this year, in prison serving his sentence, Hashem Abedi was interviewed by members of the inquiry legal team?"
Mr Barraclough told the inquiry he knew of the admission and agreed it was a "fair summary" to say Abedi admitted he had played "a full part and a knowing part".
The detective added that there was "no doubt in my mind" that the prosecution of Abedi was "entirely well founded".
Mr Greaney said: "So the point you are making is that it didn't need him to tell you that you had got it right?"
Mr Barraclough responded: "I think we had got there with the trial."
No further details of the prison interview were provided.
The court heard how the brothers spent months ordering, stockpiling and transporting the materials required for the attack.
They joined their parents in Libya the month before the blast, but Salman Abedi returned to the UK on 18 May.
He bought the final components needed for the bomb before carrying out the attack as fans left the arena on the evening of 22 May 2017.
Abedi was arrested shortly afterwards and extradited to Britain to face trial.
He did not give evidence during his trial, providing only a statement in which he denied 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.
Abedi originally claimed he did not hold extremist views and had been "shocked" by what his brother had done.
"Had I any idea of it I would have reported it to my mother initially and then to other family members to prevent it from happening," he said in his statement.
But Abedi, formerly of Fallowfield, Manchester, was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey and jailed for life in August with a minimum term of 55 years.
The Manchester Arena inquiry, which is being chaired by Sir John Saunders, started in September and is expected to last until the spring.
It aims to explore the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the attack and whether it could have been prevented.
The inquiry is being held at Manchester Magistrates' Court, less than a mile away from where the bombing happened.
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiOWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLWVuZ2xhbmQtbWFuY2hlc3Rlci01NTIxNjM4OdIBPWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FtcC91ay1lbmdsYW5kLW1hbmNoZXN0ZXItNTUyMTYzODk?oc=5
2020-12-07 13:22:00Z
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