It took three years and cost the public purse £32m. The Manchester Arena Inquiry finally came to a close on Wednesday, but instead of back-slapping and congratulations for a job well done, there was palpable frustration and fear that this vast and expensive effort may, in some respects, have been in vain.
That frustration was felt not just by the families who have watched 283 witnesses give live evidence across 201 days of hearings in which the catastrophic failures of our emergency and security services were laid bare.
It was felt by the chairman of inquiry himself, Sir John Saunders who lamented some organisations had been 'somewhat slow' in implementing change.
