A retired police officer who played a key role on the night of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing has learned he won't face disciplinary action over evidence he gave to the public inquiry.
Dale Sexton, then a chief inspector and the force duty officer (FDO) on the night of the attack, failed to communicate with other blue light services because he became 'overburdened on the night', the second report of the public inquiry into the atrocity concluded last year.
The officer told the 2018 Kerslake Review, which praised his efforts that night, that he 'totally forgot about the other services' as he concentrated on the fear that a second terrorist was at large. He was promoted to superintendent and later handed a Queens Police Medal for his efforts.
But he told the later public inquiry it had been a 'deliberate decision' not to inform the other services he had initiated Operation Plato, the plan to deal with a continuing marauding terror attack, as he wanted to avoid first responders abandoning casualties, although this rationale was not recorded in any document.
Asked why he hadn't told the Kerslake Review of his 'deliberate decision', Mr Sexton told the inquiry: "(I) didn't want that decision to be known... l'd almost got away with it on the night, as in I'd achieved to keep people at the scene providing medical treatment, and then after that, I suppose that knowing it was such a significant deviation, I didn't really want to draw light to to it."
His 'got away with it' reference infuriated watching families who made a formal complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Today (Wednesday) the watchdog confirmed that following a review it had found no evidence of misconduct, a decision that has angered some families.
Solicitor Richard Scorer, who represents the largest group of families, told the M.E.N. that 'the families we represent will be shocked and disappointed but they remain of the view that Mr Sexton failed in his role that night'.
The chairman of the public inquiry, Sir John Saunders, said Mr Sexton 'failed because he was overburdened on the night', adding that GMP 'had known for years' that he would become overwhelmed in the event of such a terror attack. Although an experienced officer, he had not received training in Op Plato, his report said.
Mr Sexton told the inquiry he didn't regard the declaration of a major incident as 'necessary' as 'everyone knew what they were dealing with - it didn't need a label putting on it in my opinion'.
Even if he had declared it, he admitted he had never seen the force's major incident plan before the night of the attack.
The plan, had it been instigated, requires commanders from the emergency services to meet at a 'forward command point'. Such a meeting didn't take place but if it had, it may have persuaded a fire service commander to be reassured it was safe enough for firefighters to be dispatched.
The first firefighters - who could have helped with the removal and treatment of casualties - arrived two hours after the blast.
The failure of the FDO on the night 'played a major part in the total failure of joint working that night', said Sir John.
An IOPC spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with all those affected by the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.
"Our independent investigation into the actions of a former Greater Manchester Police officer when providing information to a review and a series of debriefs following the Manchester Arena bombing has now concluded.
"We investigated a complaint made on behalf of families of the victims of the terror attack, as well as a separate conduct referral from the force, in relation to evidence provided by the officer, who has now retired, to the Manchester Arena Inquiry.
"In their evidence, the officer claimed they made a deliberate decision not to inform other emergency services that they had declared Operation Plato, an agreed national identifier to a no-notice marauding terrorist firearms attack.
"However, the chairman of the Inquiry, Sir John Saunders, considered the officer’s account against a wealth of evidence and determined they were mistaken in their belief that they made a deliberate decision to withhold information.
"We independently examined information provided to the inquiry as well as further evidence we gathered, including accounts from the officer. We found no evidence that would challenge Sir John’s conclusion or indicate that the officer may have committed an offence or behaved in a way that could amount to misconduct.
"We have contacted the complainants, the officer and GMP to explain our findings."
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