LONDON — A special tribunal has dismissed a legal claim involving over 300 survivors of the 2017 bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, which resulted in the loss of 22 lives. The claim, filed against MI5, the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, alleged that the agency violated human rights by failing to take preventive actions that could have averted the tragedy.
Judges from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal determined that the claimants had waited too long to bring their case forward. The attack occurred when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a knapsack bomb at the end of Grande’s concert on May 22, 2017, as thousands of young concertgoers were exiting. Aside from those who lost their lives, over 100 individuals sustained injuries, including many children and teenagers, while Abedi himself was killed in the blast.
A report from an official inquiry concluded last year that MI5 did not act quickly enough on critical information and missed a significant chance to prevent the attack, which was the deadliest act of extremism in the U.K. for several years. Abedi had previously been identified as a “subject of interest” to MI5 in 2014, but his case was closed shortly thereafter as he was considered a low risk.
The inquiry also revealed that one MI5 officer had identified potential national security concerns related to Abedi’s intelligence but failed to discuss these concerns with colleagues promptly. Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, expressed his profound regret in a rare televised address, acknowledging the agency’s inability to thwart the attack.
Justice Rabinder Singh remarked that while the tribunal acknowledged the devastating effects of the attack on the victims, it was deemed unjust to allow the claims to proceed given the delay in filing them. “Any reasonable person would have sympathy for them,” Singh noted. “The grief and trauma which they have suffered, particularly where young children were killed, is almost unimaginable.” Furthermore, Singh emphasized that pursuing this case would divert MI5 from its primary responsibilities.
In a statement, the three law firms representing the victims expressed their disappointment with the ruling. They highlighted the ongoing delays endured by their clients, who had hoped that a comprehensive legal exploration would lead to transparency and justice. “Our clients have had to endure continued delays but have done so with great patience and understanding in the hope that by allowing all legal processes to be fully explored, transparency and justice would be achieved,” they stated.
