A legal claim against Britain’s domestic intelligence agency by more than 300 survivors of a deadly bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester was rejected on Friday by a special court.
Judges at the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal said the plaintiffs had waited too long to bring their case, who alleged that MI5 had breached their rights by failing to take steps to prevent the tragedy.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at the Manchester Arena at the end of Grande’s concert on May 22, 2017, as thousands of young fans were leaving. This explosion killed 22 people and injured more than 100, most of them children and young people. Abedi died in the blast.
An official inquiry reported last year that MI5 did not act quickly enough on vital information and missed a crucial opportunity to prevent the bombings, the deadliest attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
Abedi had been a “case of interest” to MI5 officers in 2014, but his case was soon closed because he was considered a low-risk individual.
The report also found an MI5 officer who was considered to be an intelligence officer about Abedi as a potential national security problem but did not discuss it with colleagues quickly enough.
Ken McCallum, head of MI5, in a rare televised statement in March 2023 said he was “deeply sorry” his agency was unable to prevent the attack.
Claim rejected despite ‘adverse influence’
Judge Rabinder Singh said the court was “aware of the devastating impact of brutality” on the victims but said it would not be fair to let the claims continue when they could be filed sooner.
“Any reasonable person can sympathize with them,” said Singh. “The grief and trauma they have experienced, especially where young children were killed, they can hardly imagine.”
Singh also noted that if the case had gone ahead it would have put MI5 off its mind.
Three law firms representing the victims said in a statement that the decision was “deeply disappointing.”
“Our clients have had to endure ongoing delays but have done so with great patience and understanding in the hope that by allowing all legal processes to be fully considered, transparency and justice will be achieved,” the statement said.
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