According to an official report, MI5 had identified Salman Abedi, the Manchester bomber, as a prospective-jihadists prior to the attack. It is also alleged that the security service had failed to investigate two “highly relevant” information related to Abedi in early 2017 that could have prevented the horrendous attack from taking place, touted as the worst terror attack to have occurred in Britain in a decade.
Abedi had carried out the attack at Manchester Arena on 22nd May 2017, where pop sensation Ariana Grande was performing. The attack killed 22 people and injured several others.
According to the reports, a meeting was due to be held on 31st May, nine days after the attack, to discuss what action might be taken from the intelligence received on Abedi. The report said, “It was assessed at the time not to relate terrorism but to possible non-nefarious activity on part of Salman Abedi. In retrospect, the intelligence can be seen to have been highly relevant to the planned attack.”
The review was carried out by the former independent reviewer of terror legislation, David Anderson QC. His report highlights the flaws in the way the police and the MI5 work collaboratively and share intelligence with local authorities and local police forces.
David Anderson QC said, “It is conceivable that the Manchester attack in particular might have been averted if the cards had fallen differently.”
While the shortcomings in investigations were laid bare in the report, it has been revealed that nine terror plots have been halted since March 2017. Anderson produced a report of 61 pages after assessing internal reviews by the police and the MI5 post the suicide bombing in Manchester, the car and knife attacks at Westminster Bridge and London Bridge, as well as a car attack in Finsbury Park, north London.
