Families who lost loved ones in the Manchester Arena bombing have urged the chairman of the resulting public inquiry to be 'clear sighted and brave' in drawing up recommendations 'to ensure real change is effected and this country becomes a safer place'.
In a statement issued as the inquiry ended after 196 days, they called the atrocity in May 2017 a 'dreadful act of terror' and criticised evidence of 'organisational failings at every turn', but praised 'acts of true heroism' from the public and emergency services workers who tried their best to help the injured and dying.
Final closing submissions, notably from Greater Manchester Police and the Government on the part of security service MI5, were delivered on Tuesday and the chairman, Sir John Saunders, is expected to publish his second report, focusing on the response of the emergency services to the attack, later in the summer.
The third and final report, considering whether the security services and counter-terrorism police could, and should, have prevented the bombing, and the radicalisation of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, will follow.
Abedi, 22, detonated a device in a rucksack as crowds left an Ariana Grande concert at the venue on May 22, 2017. The attack claimed 22 lives - the youngest an eight-year-old girl, Saffie-Rose Roussos. Sixty three people were seriously injured and 111 hospitalised.
The statement was released by the legal team representing 12 bereaved families.
Kim Harrison, head of operations, abuse and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, praised the 'dignity, patience and great strength' of the families, many of whom had sat through 'often harrowing evidence'. She said outside Manchester magistrates court: "We want to pay tribute to their bravery today.
"With each chapter of the inquiry heard our clients have had to sit and listen to a catalogue of organisational failings at every turn - from failings with the running of the Arena and its security and medical provision, to failings of the emergency services on the night and latterly to the failures of the security services including MI5 and counter-terror policing to keep their loved ones safe that night.
"Learning how badly their loved ones were failed by all those organisations has greatly exacerbated their grief and suffering.
"However, they have also heard of acts of true heroism of many ordinary members of the public and some of the emergency services who stepped in selflessly and often at great danger to themselves to assist their loved ones and others injured that night. To all those who helped that night, our clients want to express their sincere gratitude and thanks for everything that they did.
"The families we represent desperately want something positive to come from this inquiry and for real changes to be made to keep members of the public safer from acts of terrorism in the future. The chapter one report released by the inquiry last summer was much welcomed for its clear sighted analysis of the problems at the Manchester Arena venue and bold recommendations to improve security at such venues in the future.
"On behalf of those we represent we urge the Inquiry to be equally clear sighted and brave in its chapter two and three reports dealing with the actions of the emergency services and the security services, to ensure that real change is effected and this country becomes a safer place out of this dreadful act of terror."
In a statement released as the inquiry concluded, another group of families said: "There will be important findings to be made about how the intelligence community aggregates information and effectively understands the risks posed in time to avert such tragedies.
"The vital evidence examining the emergency response to the attack has clearly shown that more must be done to ensure that public agencies are working collaboratively together seeking to save life and help those injured in such an appalling attack. It has also clearly shown that there is a crucial care gap between a tragedy like the one that occurred at the Manchester Arena happening, and medical treatment being provided, with first aid staff at venues not necessarily able to provide sufficient medical care in the immediate aftermath.
In a written, published submission Richard Horwell QC, for Greater Manchester Police, said the force and counter-terror policing 'strive hard to protect the people they serve'.
But he added: "And it is a matter of the deepest regret that they were not able to prevent this atrocity."
Operation Manteline, the police probe into the bombing, was 'meticulous', he said, and revealed it to be 'one of the largest police investigations ever conducted in the UK'.
"There were more than 16,000 actions, 17,000 exhibits, 20,000 documents and 4,000 witness statements," he said. "Twenty-three arrests were made under the Terrorism Acts and 42 premises and 18 vehicles were searched. Considerably more than 1,000 digital devices were seized which contained in excess of 16 terabytes of data. There was no reluctance to investigate. Many theories and potential leads were explored and the overwhelming majority were found to lack substance."
Manteline, the QC said, would 'always remain open' and there are 'outstanding' people wanted for interview.
But he said 'unless and until' there was sufficient evidence of co-conspirators, 'there is no reason why this should have been anything other than a two-man conspiracy'. The bomber's brother, Hashem Abedi, is serving a minimum sentence of 55 years.
The brothers, he argued, were given assistance, but he pointed out 'the greatest possible difference between mere assistance and conspiratorial or knowing assistance'. "Manteline will always remain open, but as the evidence currently stands before the inquiry, we suggest that there is insufficient for it to conclude that another or others were knowingly involved in this conspiracy."
The brothers, Mr Horwell said, used 'at least' 14 different mobiles between July 2016 and May 2017. Only two were recovered. They were, he added, 'undoubtedly motivated by their support for ISIS', but he called a suggestion voiced by an expert that the terrorist group had a 'heads-up' about the attack before it happened 'pure speculation'.
Evidence concerning MI5 was heard in 'closed sessions' not open to the public or families to protect national security. Mr Horwell said the 'closed evidence' was not a weakness but a strength of the inquiry, although he said frustrations on the part of bereaved families over having an 'incomplete picture' were appreciated.
Cathryn McGahey QC, on behalf of the Government, accepted 'measures were not enough' to prevent the brothers from buying the chemicals and elements they used to build the bomb, which she said was constructed from commonly available household chemicals.
She said security arrangements had now been stepped up but added: "Sadly, it is just not possible to prevent all purchases of precursor chemicals as some are required for ordinary use in the home and in businesses.
Ms McGahey said there was 'simply insufficient evidence' for the inquiry to conclude Abdalraouf Abdallah, a friend of Salman Abedi who was convicted of terror offences, radicalised him from prison.
The QC said: "The policies reflected that, in 2016/2017, HM Prison and Probation Service was aware of outside organisations and individuals deliberately trying to support terrorists inside prisons, including by explicitly targeting those people who had been identified by radicalisers in prison and by supporting radicalisation from the outside.
"However, the terrorism threat is constantly evolving and a new communications policy framework is in progress. It will address this issue and condense the relevant policies into a single document."
Ms McGahey said MI5 had supplied every relevant document to the inquiry.
Bereaved families have not been able to see some details, but she said that information was challenged and assessed in the closed hearings. The QC told the chairman: "MI5 does not suggest for one moment that you should hold back from making any criticism that you believe to be warranted.
"One of the major purposes of this inquiry is to identify failings and weaknesses and to make recommendations that might save lives in the future. MI5 wants to do anything possible to prevent another attack."
Salman Abedi, at the time, was one of 20,000 closed 'subjects of interest' for MI5, the inquiry heard. Ms McGahey said there were now double that number of closed SOIs. She said at the time, the 'scale of the threat was unprecedented'.
The QC said: "The essential issues for MI5 during the period from July 2014 to May 2017 were whether there was intelligence to indicate that he posed a threat to national security sufficient to justifying opening an investigation; and, if so, what level and type of investigative resource should then have been committed in response.
"Those questions can only be addressed on a detailed analysis of the closed evidence.
"For present purposes, it is submitted that MI5's assessment of Salman Abedi as not reaching the threshold for re-opening as an SOI was a reasonable one, on the available intelligence, throughout the material period."
Ms McGahey added: "MI5 is acutely conscious that none of what has been said in these submissions can change the fact that Salman Abedi was able to carry out his attack undetected, and that 22 innocent people died as a result. That is, and will always be, a matter of the most profound regret for MI5 as an organisation and all of those individuals involved, directly and indirectly, with this tragedy.
"It is hoped, however, that the chairman, the public, and the families of those who lost their lives on May 22, 2017, will take reassurance, from the evidence given to the inquiry, of the determination of M15 to do everything in its power to protect the people of this country from future terrorist atrocities."
