MI5 chief Ken McCallum has publicly apologised over the security service’s failure to thwart the Manchester Arena terror attack.
In a rare public statement, the director-general acknowledged MI5 did not seize the “slim” chance it had to thwart the 2017 bombing that claimed the lives of 22 people.
Hundreds of others were also injured in the attack, carried out by suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
But inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders said, having heard from MI5 witnesses at secret hearings, he considered that did not present an “accurate picture.”
Following the findings, McCallum publicly apologised for the failings identified and insisted improvements had been made.
Speaking in Manchester on Thursday, he said: “Having examined all the evidence, the chair of the inquiry has found that ‘there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained which might have led to actions preventing the attack.’
“I deeply regret that such intelligence was not obtained.
“Gathering covert intelligence is difficult—but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma. I am profoundly sorry that MI5 did not prevent the attack.”
Neither MI5 nor the Home Office would say whether anyone at the security service had faced disciplinary action.
Missed Opportunity
It was heard on Thursday how one MI5 officer admitted to the inquiry they considered a possible pressing national security concern on one of the pieces of intelligence surrounding Abedi, but did not discuss it with colleagues straight away and did not write up a report on the same day.In his 207-page report, Sir John said: “The delay in providing the report led to the missing of an opportunity to take a potentially important investigative action.
“Based on everything the security service knew or should have known, I am satisfied that such an investigative action would have been a proportionate and justified step to take. This should have happened.”
He said that if the intelligence had been followed up immediately it could have led to Abedi, 22, being followed to the parked Nissan Micra where he stored the explosive, which he later moved to a rented city centre flat to assemble.
The chairman added that Abedi also could have been stopped at Manchester Airport on his return from Libya four days before the attack.
Questions also remain about Abedi’s links with the late Muslim preacher Mansour al-Anezi, who he visited before his death.
The inquiry’s report lists him as an associate of Abedi who was arrested in 2008 as part of the investigation into failed Exeter suicide bomb attacker Nicky Reilly.
Abedi and his brother Hashem—who was jailed for life after he was convicted of assisting the Manchester Arena plot—were “in contact” with al-Anezi between October 2016 and January 2017 and the pair went to his funeral, according to the findings.
While the details of the relationship were “not known,” the inquiry heard police considered it a “connection of significance.”
Deemed ‘Low Risk’
Abedi was recorded as a subject of interest (SOI) in 2014 and investigated by MI5 but later deemed “low risk.”He was identified on six occasions as a contact of suspected extremists between 2013 and 2017.
The security service investigates around 3,000 active SOIs when it believes someone may pose a threat and has about 600 live investigations at any one time. Significant numbers of SOIs are overseas.
They are ranked by priority and resources will be dedicated to them depending on the level of threat they are judged to pose.
When they are no longer deemed to pose a threat, they are downgraded and marked as a “closed” SOI, joining a list of around 40,000 people who have at some point featured in probes.
McCallum did not take questions on the findings, but in his recorded statement he said since the attack MI5 has made “more than 100 improvements” as it “continually” works to better efforts to fight terrorism.
The Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC), which opened in June 2021, is considered by officials to be a major step forward in that mission because it brings together police, intelligence agencies, government departments, and other elements of the criminal justice system involved in counter-terror operations in one place for the first time.
The move was in a bid to speed up the response to threats and improve how terrorists are monitored.
MI5 will “engage fully” with the inquiry’s recommendations, McCallum said, adding: “Where there are opportunities to strengthen the UK’s defences further, MI5 will act. We will continue to do everything in our power to keep our country safe from hidden threats.”
Describing the attack as a “terrible tragedy,” McCallum said his thoughts were with the “families and friends of those killed, and with all those whose lives were changed by this appalling act of terrorism.”
“MI5 exists to stop atrocities. To all those whose lives were forever changed on that awful night: I am so sorry that MI5 did not prevent the attack at the Manchester Arena,” he added.
‘Cataclysmic Failure’
Following Thursday’s publication of the report, bereaved families said they hoped “lessons would be learned.”Andrew Roussos, whose daughter Saffie-Rose, 8, was killed in the blast, said: “Our beautiful little girl lost her life because of the failings of the security services.
“We all heard the evidence and knew there were failings, but hearing how this tragedy might have been avoided is devastating for us all.
“This was a cataclysmic failure, and it is clear from all of the evidence we have heard about Abedi that there were many opportunities for the security services to have ensured the bombing never happened.
“In my view the fact that MI5 failed to stop him despite all of the red flags available demonstrates they are not fit to keep us safe and therefore not fit for purpose.”
The parents of Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, both from South Shields, also voiced their anger at the Security Service.
Curry’s mother said: “Those that played any part in the murder of our children will never, ever get forgiveness. From top to bottom, MI5 to the associates of the attacker, we will always believe you all played a part in the murder of our children.”
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Matt Jukes promised to “act quickly” on the inquiry’s findings and insisted officers remain “relentless in our work to keep the public safe.”
He said: “I am sorry that, despite our determined partnership [with MI5], we did not stop the loss of life, nor the injury and trauma that happened close to here, almost six years ago.
“I want those who have lost loved ones to know that their loss has steeled us to ensure our counter terrorism partnerships are stronger, faster, and more effective.”
MI5 and the police disrupted at least 37 late-stage terror attack plots since the start of 2017.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “I am committed to working with MI5, policing, and partners to study the recommendations. Together we will do everything possible to prevent a repeat of this horrifying attack.”
Security minister Tom Tugendhat said he shared the “sorrow” expressed by MI5, adding: “I know that all of us are working to make sure that the improvements that need to be made are made.”
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