A new report revealed that the attack at the Ariana Grande concert in 2017 could have been prevented, saving the lives of the 22 fatalities left by this terrible incident. The UK’s National Intelligence Agency did not act quickly when it got its hands on key information to prevent the suicide bombing in Manchester, north-west England, on May 22, 2017.
The attack was carried out by Salman Abedi, 22, and although the first information that was handled is that the suicide bomber had acted alone, the new investigation determined that Abedi could have had the help of another accomplice from Libya. This report, carried out by John Saunders, could confirm the hypothesis that, until now, had been denied by MI5, that not only the brother of the suicide bomber knew about Salman Abedi’s plans. The new study reveals that other people may have been aware of the terrorist’s plans, “although they may not know all the details,” according to the ‘BBC’.
Saunders said an MI5 official admitted he considered Salman Abedi’s previous actions to be a national security issue, but did not discuss it with his colleagues quickly enough to prevent the attack. “I have found an important missed opportunity to take action that could have prevented the attack,” Saunders said. Furthermore, in a televised statement, Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, indicated that he was “deeply sorry that MI5 did not prevent the attack. Gathering covert intelligence is difficult, but if we had managed to take advantage of the small opportunity we had, those affected might not have experienced such terrible loss and trauma,” McCallum said.
The parents of the victims do not forgive MI5 for its inaction in the face of the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert
Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 100. And although he died in the attack and his brother, Hashem Abedi, was sentenced to life in prison for helping to plan the attack, the truth is that the relatives of the victims do not believe that justice has been done, especially considering that the attack could have been prevented, since MI5 considered ‘Abedi’ a ‘subject of interest’ since 2014, but they closed his case. They also did not refer Abedi to the British government’s anti-terrorism programme, called ‘Prevent’. “I have come to the conclusion that there was at least one period during Salman Abedi’s journey towards violent extremism where he should have been referred,” said John Saunders.
Due to this, Caroline Curry, mother of Liam Curry (19 years old), one of the fatal victims of the attack, indicated that she cannot forgive MI5 officials for their inaction and rulings in this case. “From top to bottom, from MI5 to the attacker’s associates, we will always believe that you all played a role in the murder of our children,” he told local media.
