The Manchester Arena terror attack might have been avoided

It's emerged this year's Manchester Arena bombing might have been avoided, if security services had handled some intelligence about the man responsible differently.

The conclusion's part of an official report into the run-ups of four terror attacks in the UK this year.

Salman Abedi had twice been a "subject of interest" on MI5 lists before killing 22 people at the Ariana Grande concert in May.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has been updating the Commons

Regarding the Manchester Arena attack, Salman Abedi was also a closed subject of interest at the time of the attack, and so not under active investigation.

In early 2017, MI5 nonetheless received intelligence on him, which was assessed as not being related to terrorism.

In retrospect, the intelligence can be seen to be highly relevant.

Had an investigation been reopened at the time, it cannot be known whether Abedi's plans could have been stopped.

MI5 assess that it would have been unlikely.

Across the attacks, including Manchester Arena, David Anderson notes that MI5 and CT policing got a great deal right.

However, in relation to Manchester, he also commented that, quote, 'it is conceivable that the attack might have been averted had the cards fallen differently'.'

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "This year 22 people in Manchester were murdered. Twenty two families were left devastated and there are hundreds of people suffering from physical or emotional trauma. None of us will ever forget that most awful of days.

"Our thoughts remain with all those affected and we remain committed to bringing anyone involved in this attack to justice.

"We welcome the report by Mr David Anderson QC, which provided independent assurance of the reviews undertaken by National Counter Terrorism Policing and MI5 in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.

"Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK is recognised internationally for its successes and strong partnership approach to defeating terrorists, because of that we will never stop learning or adapting to ensure that the response meets the changing threat.

"The size and scale of the threat from terrorism has been made so tragically clear this year. Greater Manchester Police will support Counter Terrorism Policing and the UK intelligence community in its response to this step change in threat and in adopting the recommendations in the Review.

"Further independent scrutiny will follow including inquests into the deaths of those who lost their lives. Greater Manchester Police will support those inquiries and with our partner agencies will continue to support those affected."

The Mayor of Greater Mancheste Andy Burnham :

"This is a thorough and honest review. I would like to thank David Anderson QC and all of those in the security and police services who have contributed to it.

There is no escaping the fact that the report will be a difficult read for everyone in Manchester and most particularly for the bereaved families and those still recovering from the attack. We think of them today and recommit to doing everything we can to support them going forward.

I also recognise that today will be difficult for all those in the police and security services who we ask to take the most difficult and finely-balanced judgements on our behalf. They work day in, day out to keep us safe, have foiled 20 attacks over the last four years and will no doubt feel real anguish when occasionally they are unable to stop an attack from happening.

It is clear that this report is the result of a lot of soul-searching on their behalf. I accept its conclusion that there is no way of knowing whether the Manchester attack could have been stopped. But it is clear that things could – and perhaps should – have been done differently and wrong judgements made. There are lessons to be learned and I think the people of Greater Manchester will appreciate the honesty in which they are being acknowledged.

It is important to note the conclusion that the authorities got a lot right in respect of the Manchester attack. The fact that they were closing in on the perpetrator should reassure the public of the professionalism of our police and security services and the systems that they use. It would be much more worrying if nothing had been known about him.

But clearly systems can be improved further still and I know that people affected by the Manchester attack will want to know that changes are being made to prevent others going through what they are going through. In the aftermath of the Manchester attack, I called for consideration of two-way sharing on intelligence between national counter-terrorism and local police and I am pleased to see that recommendation in this report. This is a significant development which is right given that the nature of the terror threat has changed and issues as likely now to come from lone operators as sophisticated networks.

I welcome the Home Secretary’s suggestion of a pilot in Greater Manchester and we will work constructively with the Government on that. This fits well with our aim of asking local communities to do more to tackle extremism and the Commission we have established to that end.

But, while welcoming the recognition that neighbourhood policing has an important role to play in counter-terrorism operations, it inescapably follows that real-terms cuts to the police budget must stop and increases given to reflect the greater workload and growing threat that we face. As it makes its final decisions on the police budget for next year, the Government must give Greater Manchester police a budget that will allow it to enhance neighbourhood policing in all our communities

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: " We know that the findings of this review will be painful for the grieving families and others injured and traumatised by the terrible events of 22 May and they all remain in the forefront of our thoughts. Our intelligence and counter-terrorism police services face an extremely challenging job to help keep us safe in the face of an ongoing and evolving threat. It is recognised that lessons need to be learned from the attacks in Manchester and London - it is essential this happens and I am sure that there is a real determination among the relevant services to ensure that it does."

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• amber rudd
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