MI5’s apology for not preventing the Manchester Arena bombing is not 'enough' a Greater Manchester MP has said.
Conservative James Daly, MP for Bury North asked Home Secretary Suella Braverman who is being held accountable after the third and final report into the Manchester Arena attack found there was 'a significant missed opportunity to take action' on the part of MI5 that might have prevented the atrocity.
The security service’s director general, Ken McCallum, issued an apology after the public inquiry into the May 2017 atrocity found it might have been prevented if MI5 had acted more swiftly on a piece of intelligence received in the months before.
McCallum said he 'deeply regrets' that MI5 did not act on information about the bomber, adding that he was 'profoundly sorry' the agency had failed to stop the attack.
Speaking in the Commons after Ms Braverman delivered a statement on the report, the MP for Bury North said: “Today we have the third volume of the report, where it says there was a significant missed opportunity to take action on the part of MI5.
“We also have highlighted previously the shocking failures of the venue’s owners, the security contractors and emergency services. Some of these people could still be alive today and I would like to know about accountability.
“Too often in this place, an apology from an organisation seems to be enough when it’s not. People died as a result of the actions of not only this bomber, but the gross negligence of some of the bodies that I have been talking about.
“Who is being held accountable? Who is going to be responsible? And will this information be passed on to the families?”
Andrew Roussos, the father of Saffie Roussos who tragically died aged just eight, previously said MI5 have 'blood on their hands'. Speaking on Times Radio on March 5, Mr Roussos said MI5 have 'most of the blame' for the tragic attack in May 2017, where 22 people sadly lost their lived after Abedi detonated a bomb shortly after an Ariana Grande concert at the city centre venue.
The Sunday Times reported that he claimed a number of other families had indicated they might join him in the legal action.
The Home Secretary said that as the inquiry’s report makes clear, the responsibility for the events of May 22, 2017 'lies with the bomber and his brother', adding: “When it comes to whether lives could have been saved, the Government is of course incredibly sorry and sorry is a weak word.”
Ms Braverman noted Sir John Saunders, the chairman of the public inquiry, was also clear in his conclusion that 'it remains quite impossible to say whether any different or additional action taken by the authorities could have prevented the attack'.
She added: “It might have done, it might not have done. It’s very hard to say what would have happened if the bomber had been approached under Prevent or the Channel programme.”
In her statement, the Home Secretary said the conclusions from the Manchester Arena inquiry’s latest report 'require careful consideration'. Ms Braverman also said the Government had 'made a number of changes to how we deal with and seek to prevent terrorist attacks' since 2017.
She reiterated her plans to reform the Prevent programme, telling MPs: “Prevent will focus on security, not on political correctness, and its first objective will be to tackle the ideological causes of terrorism.
"Work is currently underway to develop a new faith security training scheme to raise security awareness among faith communities and help them to mitigate threats. We continue to engage with faith organisations and security experts to develop this scheme.”
She added that effort to introduce greater protection from terrorism in public places will be brought forward in the spring.
Asked by Labour about when Martyn’s Law would be introduced, the Home Secretary said: “In relation to Martyn’s Law, the Government will publish draft legislation for scrutiny in the spring and after that introduce a Bill to the House as soon as parliamentary time allows. Its progression after that is dependent on the approval by Parliament and agreeing a day for its commencement.”
She described the Bill as 'one part of our extensive efforts across Government including those of the police and security services to combat the threat of terrorism'. The Bill would place a requirement on those responsible for certain publicly accessible locations to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.
Read more of today's top stories here.
Read next:
'It used to be beautiful': The Curry Mile restaurateurs who say it's 'gone so downhill'
Torment of wife of missing dad as trolls and 'social media detectives fuel speculation'
Boy, 15, in a serious condition after stabbing outside McDonalds
The pretty village with no shops and one pub an hour from Greater Manchester
