A long-awaited report delving into the response of the emergency services following the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack will be published today.
Chaired by Sir John Saunders, the public inquiry into the atrocity which claimed the lives of 22 people began in 2019 - with his findings to be divided into three sections.
Today, the second volume will be released to survivors and families of the victims, before being made available to the public, and will examine the role of emergency services that night.
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The victim's families, politicians and survivors are all expected to react to the lengthy report, which is likely to highlight what has been described as a "catastrophic" response by the region's emergency services.
Greater Manchester Fire Service, Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service are all braced for criticism in the report, which will be available from 2.30pm today (November 3).
Sir John has been urged by their families that eight-year-old girl Saffie-Rose Roussos, the youngest victim, and John Atkinson, 28, could have survived with better treatment.
John's family say he was 'badly let down by some in the emergency services'. He had to wait an hour and 29 minutes to be loaded onto an ambulance.
GMFRS has already issued an apology ahead of the report after the inquiry heard its firefighters took more than two hours to arrive at the scene of the blast, blaming 'silence' from Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
GMP have also apologised for communication and training failures but pointed the blame at the senior officer in charge of the initial response - a position that has infuriated the families of those who lost loved ones.
The families have also rejected an apology from a North West Ambulance Service commander, after it emerged only three paramedics were dispatched into the blast zone.
Last summer, Sir John published his first report which concluded that Abedi should have been identified as a "threat" and challenged by police and security staff on the night. 'Disruptive intervention' should have been taken against him and lives could have been saved as a result, Sir John found in his damning report into security arrangements on the night.
The response of emergency services on the night of May 22, 2017 has been branded as "catastrophic" by the lawyer who represents the largest group of families in the inquiry. Casualties were taken on makeshift stretchers down the stairs to the concourse of Victoria railway station to be treated, and it took up to four hours for some victims to be removed.
Ms Harrison, of law firm Slater and Gordon, who represented eleven of the victims’ families including the family of John Atkinson, said: "We cannot shy away from the fact that there were a number of catastrophic failures in the emergency response on the night of the attack. Nationally there needs to be a better understanding and training within each emergency service of their roles and responsibilities and each other's when dealing with a response to a multi-casualty terrorist attack.
"As a country, we need a more proactive approach to preparedness for responding to terrorist attacks which should include an appreciation of the urgency to mitigate the care gap (time between an incident occurring and the time medically trained clinicians treating casualties) and to extricate casualties in a timely and efficient manner."
Volume two of the report will be available to view after 2.30pm here and the Manchester Evening News will cover all of the reaction from key figures.
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