Manchester terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie "may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology", the police have said.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said: "At this stage, we believe Al-Shamie may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology. Establishing the full circumstances of the attack is likely to take some time."

The force confirmed they have now arrested three further people, one man and two women, aged between 18 and mid-40s.

Mr Taylor said: "This brings the number of people in custody arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism to six.

"We will be seeking warrants of further detention for all six individuals and will seek to issue an update on this later.

"I would like to once again stress that our investigation is still in its early stages.

"I know there is significant public interest in this case, and we will seek to provide timely updates on our progress where possible.

"We would ask people to refrain from speculation or sharing unverified information as that could potentially cause unnecessary delays in our enquiries and additional upset for all those impacted by these horrific events."

Jihad Al-Shamie may have been influenced by 'extreme Islamist ideology'