Four years after the terror attack claimed the lives of 22 fans, experts claim in a 200-page report that 'more should have been done' by police and security officials to prevent it.
- Jun 18, 2021
AceShowbiz - Security staff failed to prevent the bombing at Ariana Grande's 2017 Manchester Arena concert, investigators have ruled.
Four years after the terror attack claimed the lives of 22 fans as they left the venue, experts have started dishing out blame, insisting security teams missed multiple chances to prevent the tragedy.
Bomber Salman Abedi detonated a home-made explosive device in the foyer of the venue as concertgoers were leaving. More than 800 people were injured by the blast.
A 200-page report into the attack has now been published, and in it investigators state, "There were a number of missed opportunities to alter the course of what happened that night," adding, "More should have been done" by police and security officials to prevent the bombing.
The report, which has been in development for nine months, notes police chiefs should have identified Abedi as a potential threat on the night of the attack.
The leaders of the inquiry have also named arena operators SMG and security company Showsec as "principally responsible" for missed opportunities to prevent or minimize the "devastating impact of the attack."
John Saunders, who chaired the inquiry, also notes that a teenage security guard failed to take effective steps after a member of the public raised concerns to him about Abedi.
He also criticizes SMG's inadequate surveillance camera system, which gave Abedi the opportunity to hide from view for close to an hour before the bombing.
"It is implicit in the findings that I have made that both SMG and Showsec failed to take steps to improve security at the Arena that they should have taken," Saunders explains, also revealing that of the four British Transport Police officers on duty at the arena on the night of the blast, two had taken a two-hour meal break, driving miles away from the arena, despite the fact the national terror threat level in the U.K. was severe.
