Families devastated by the Manchester Arena bombing have issued a powerful demand for change, stating that the UK's Security Service, MI5, failed them and must now be subjected to far greater openness and scrutiny.
A Missed Opportunity to Prevent Tragedy
Their call comes in the wake of a damning public inquiry which concluded that the atrocity, which claimed 22 lives in May 2017, could have been stopped. The inquiry chair, Sir John Saunders, found that MI5's failure to act swiftly on two crucial pieces of intelligence in the months before the attack represented a "significant missed opportunity".
Sir John stated there was a "realistic possibility" that decisive action on this intelligence could have thwarted suicide bomber Salman Abedi's plot. Abedi detonated a homemade rucksack bomb in the foyer of the arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
Families' Direct Plea to the Prime Minister
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and seen by the BBC, the bereaved families have demanded that MI5 be fully encompassed by a proposed new law designed to prevent cover-ups. "How many times must MI5 show that it cannot be trusted before something is done?" the letter poignantly asks.
The government has introduced the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as a Hillsborough law, which would compel public officials and contractors to tell the truth after disasters. The families insist MI5 must not be exempt from this duty of candour.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds more on 22 May 2017. His brother, Hashem Abedi, was later convicted of assisting the terror plot and jailed for life in August 2020 with a minimum term of 55 years.
The inquiry revealed that Abedi had returned from Libya, where he had been fighting alongside Islamists, just four days before the attack. Had MI5 acted more decisively on the intelligence they held, his return would have been treated with extreme seriousness. This could have led to him being followed to a Nissan Micra where he stored explosives, and to the rented flat where he built the device.
In December 2023, a judge ruled that almost £20m is to be paid in compensation to children injured in the bombing. Sixteen victims, all under 16 at the time, received settlements ranging from £2,770 to £11.4m for catastrophic physical injuries and profound psychological damage.
The families' campaign underscores a lasting demand for accountability and systemic reform within the UK's intelligence and security apparatus, hoping to ensure such a devastating intelligence failure can never happen again.
