More than 250 survivors of the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, are pursuing legal action against Britain's domestic intelligence agency. The attack, carried out by Salman Abedi, claimed the lives of 22 people and left over 100 others injured, many of whom were children and teenagers.
The group claim, submitted by three law firms on behalf of the survivors, has been lodged with the U.K.'s investigatory powers tribunal. Details of the legal proceedings remain confidential due to the ongoing nature of the case.
An official inquiry into the bombing revealed that MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, failed to act promptly on crucial information that could have potentially prevented the attack. Abedi, who detonated a knapsack bomb at the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, had been previously flagged as a 'subject of interest' by MI5 in 2014. However, his case was closed shortly after, as he was considered low-risk.
The inquiry further disclosed that an MI5 officer acknowledged the intelligence regarding Abedi as a possible national security threat but did not escalate the matter promptly within the agency.
In a rare televised statement, Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, expressed deep regret over the agency's failure to thwart the bombing. He stated, 'I am profoundly sorry that we were unable to prevent the attack.' The Manchester Arena bombing stands as one of the deadliest extremist incidents in recent U.K. history, underscoring the importance of robust intelligence and security measures to safeguard against such atrocities.
