British intelligence is accused of serious shortcomings in its management of the Manchester attack in 2017, killing 22 after the explosion of a bomb at the exit of a concert at Manchester Arena, and claimed by the IS .
On May 22, 2017, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan origin, Salman Abedi, detonated a bomb outside the concert hall. Manchester Arenaafter a performance by American pop star Ariana Grande, killing seven children and 15 adults and injuring around 100 people.
In a 200-page report, former judge John Saunders looked into the radicalization of the terrorist and the possibility that the attack could have been avoided. The security services missed “ a serious opportunity to act, which could have led to averting the attack “, according to the report published this Thursday, March 2. Former judge John Saunders does not detail, for national security reasons, reports our correspondent in London, Emily Wine.
The acts of Salman Abedi minimized by the intelligence services
In his report, only a part of which has been made public, he points to a whole series of shortcomings before the attack. According to him, Salman Abedi should have been directed to a de-radicalization program as early as 2015. And the intelligence services failed to understand the importance of certain actions of Salman Abedi, for example, his return from Libya, four days before the attack and whose bomb was already present in his car.
John Saunders also points to poor communication between MI5, intelligence, and British anti-terrorism. With more exchanges, it would have been easier to spot the threat posed by the attacker, he argues.
“Unacceptable” shortcomings
For Richard Scorer, a lawyer who represents eleven of the victims’ families, the findings of the new report show that the information gaps ” lost, at leasta possibility of avoiding the attack “. He called it ” unacceptable » the shortcomings underlined. For former judge John Saunders, at least two of the twenty-two victims could have been saved.
An already damning first report on the authorities’ inability to identify Salman Abedi as a threat was published in June 2022. A second report in November 2022 this time scrutinized the management of relief by the authorities during the suicide attack, considering in particular that the Manchester Police chief had been quickly “ overwhelmed by the number of tasks he had to accomplish “.
The anger of the families of victims
Families of victims reacted angrily to the new report. Caroline Curry lost her son Liam in the attack: “ All those who played a role in the murder of our children will never have our forgiveness. At every level, from MI5 to the assailant’s accomplices. We believe that you all have your share of responsibility. There were so many people paid to protect our children that night, and yet so many of them failed to fulfill their roles. Even the security guards, who were warned of the danger, and who failed to act accordingly. Once again: we will never forgive you. »
For Figen Murray, mother of Martyn Hett, killed at the Arena, the three volumes of the report show an abundance of errors, on the part of a whole series of institutions: ” We are not here to point fingers; the main thing is that all those who have made mistakes are now aware of their shortcomings “.
For its part, MI5 presented its ” deep apologies for not having prevented the attack.
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(And with AFP)