Survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing have been refused “core participant” status at the forthcoming public inquiry.

A group of 56 of the survivors wanted to be able to ask questions at the inquiry, which was due to begin on 15 June but has been delayed until September because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They include a father who was left in a wheelchair and another who was blinded in one eye.

Brenda Campbell QC told a video-link hearing this month that holding an inquiry without their participation would be an “afront to the confidence of the public”.

She argued that those injured in the attack should be granted core participant status and be legally represented.

In total, 93 people were either seriously injured or very seriously injured in the suicide bombing in May 2017.

Inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders said he intended to call survivors to give “relevant evidence as witnesses during the inquiry”.

In a statement, Sir John accepted the attack has had a “terrible and lasting impact” on the survivors and added: “The injuries, trauma and personal tragedy that the survivors have suffered cannot be overstated.”

But he went on to say: “After a great deal of anxious thought, I have decided to refuse this application (for core participant status).”

The former High Court judge said survivors would still have a “voice in this inquiry”, adding: “I have concluded that they will be able to contribute to the inquiry without core participant status and I strongly encourage them to do so.”

He promised the survivors would be able to raise any concerns with the legal team running the inquiry and help “identify lines of inquiry that they would wish to have pursued”.

Some of the bereaved families said the survivors should be excluded from core participation because they might “dilute the focus”.

Following the ruling, Saoirse de Bont, a solicitor at legal firm Irwin Mitchell representing more than 40 people seriously injured in the attack, said some clients had been “close to death” and they believed the inquiry would now be “limited” as a result of the ruling.

“They will not have the same rights and access to the inquiry as other core participants, such as the police and government,” she said.

The brother of the bomber was found guilty of 22 charges of murder last month.

Hashem Abedi, 22, conspired with Salman Abedi, who killed himself and 22 others when he detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert.

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