Ajit Karn
London: On Thursday, the Chief UK Security security services expressed regret that his agents missed a “significant” opportunity to prevent a 2017 suicide explosion at the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.
Twenty-two people, the youngest of whom was eight years old, were killed and more than two hundred were injured when a man detonated a homemade device at Manchester Arena in northern England as parents arrived to retrieve their children after the U.S. singer’s performance.
John Saunders, the chairman of a public inquiry into the tragedy, stated that he could not definitively state that the bombing could have been prevented, but that “there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained, which could have led to action preventing the attack”
He claimed that the domestic intelligence agency MI5, whose agents he questioned in private hearings, had not acted quickly enough. Saunders spoke following the release of his third and final report on the explosion, which was the deadliest in Britain since the London transport suicide attacks of 2005.
Director General of MI5 Ken McCallum expressed “profound regret” that his service had not prevented the attack.
“It is difficult to gather covert intelligence, but if we had been able to exploit the narrow opportunity we had, those affected may not have suffered such devastating loss and trauma,” he said in a statement.
John Saunders stated at a press conference that there had been a “significant lost opportunity” to prevent the attack. He stated that he was unable to provide details due to national security concerns and acknowledged that this may leave victims’ families wanting more information.
‘SO MANY FAILED IN THEIR DUTIES’
Richard Scorer, an attorney for eleven bereaved families, stated that Saunders’ report revealed “intolerable” shortcomings.
“At the very least, a realistic chance of preventing this atrocity was eliminated. This conclusion is devastating for us “he said.
John Saunders stated that the perpetrator, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, had been known to the security agency since 2014, had visited an influential incarcerated terrorist, and should have been referred to a de-radicalization programme.
Hashem, Abedi’s younger brother, was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 2020 for encouraging and aiding him, while Ismail, Abedi’s eldest brother, was convicted in his absence in July for failing to appear at the inquiry to give evidence, having fled Britain.
The siblings were born to Libyan parents who fled to the United Kingdom during Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.
Suella Braverman, the minister of the interior, stated that she would collaborate with the agency and the police to “do everything possible to prevent a repeat of this heinous assault.”
John Saunders’ previous two reports had also highlighted other flaws and errors in the venue’s security and the response by the emergency services, stating that one victim would have likely survived had it not been for these flaws.
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Some relatives of the victims stated that they could never absolve those who had betrayed their loved ones.
“From top to bottom – MI5 to the attacker’s associates – we will always believe that you all played a role in the assassination of our children,” said Caroline Curry, the mother of a teenage boy and his 17-year-old fiancée who were murdered.
“So many individuals were paid to protect our children that night, yet so many failed in their obligations.”
