Manchester Arena inquiry finds MI5 missed significant chance to prevent suicide bombing

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) - British intelligence agency MI5 missed a “significant” opportunity to prevent a suicide bombing after a concert at Manchester Arena in 2017, an inquiry into the deadly attack concluded Thursday.

Twenty-two people died and hundreds were injured after Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb when families arrived at the arena to collect their children following a concert by the American singer Ariana Grande.

The report says the MI5 received intelligence on Abedi twice in the months before the bombing but failed to detect the plot.

"There was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained which might have led to actions preventing the attack," said the inquiry's third and final report.

The inquiry had heard that Abedi had been on the radar of the security services for seven years before the bombing.

The lengthy report also looks into how Abedi was radicalized and how he planned the bombing attack.

The report, published by former high court judge Sir John Saunders, also identified problems with the sharing of information between the security service and counter-terrorism police.

“It remains quite impossible to say whether any different or additional action taken by the authorities could have prevented the attack. It might have done; it might not have done,” the report said.

Following the publication of the report, Sir John shared his comments on a live stream.

“It is not possible to reach any conclusion on the balance of probabilities or to any other evidential standard as to whether the attack would have been prevented. However, there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained which might have led to actions preventing the attack.”

He said the reason for the missed opportunity included a failure by a security service officer to act swiftly enough.