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The Story

Manchester Arena bombing: How MI5 failed to stop it

The Story

The Times

News, Investigative Reporting, Long-form Audio, Current Affairs, In-depth Journalism, Daily News, Audio Storytelling, Daily News Podcast, Global News, Politics, Uk News, News Analysis, Exclusive Interviews

3.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Almost six years after a suicide bomber killed 22 and injured hundreds more at the Manchester Arena, the inquiry into the attack has published its final report. Did the security services have the intelligence that could have prevented it from happening?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.

Guest: Fiona Hamilton, Crime and Security Editor, The Times.  

Host: Luke Jones. 

Clips: Manchester Arena Inquiry, Reuters, BBC News, Times Radio, AP.  

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Breaking news out of Greater Manchester of the police there and emergency services attending

0:11.9

what they described as an incident.

0:15.3

It was later on Monday evening that worrying, confused report started to come in.

0:20.1

Report now from Greater Manchester police who are now saying that there have been confirmed

0:35.7

a number of fatalities.

0:40.1

22nd of May 2017, some kind of an incident at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester

0:49.0

Arena.

0:50.2

We now know that a single terrorist detonated his improvised explosive device near one of

0:55.9

the exits of the venue, deliberately choosing the time and place to cause maximum carnage

1:03.2

and to kill and injure indiscriminately.

1:07.4

The killer was Salmon Abating, 22 years old, British of Libyan descent.

1:13.6

In this suicide attack he killed 22 people and injured hundreds more, many of them children.

1:20.2

It was the deadliest terrorist attack since the seven seven London bombings in 2005.

1:25.8

How did no one manage to stop him?

1:29.6

Six years on, an inquiry into just that has finally been published.

1:35.4

I have found a significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack.

1:43.8

On Sunday some of the victim's families announced they want more in their search for justice.

1:48.6

Families of some of the 22 people who died in the Manchester Arena bombing said they want

1:52.8

to take legal action against the security services for failing to protect their loved ones.

1:59.9

You're listening to stories of our times from the times and the Sunday times.

2:03.2

I'm Luke Jones. Today, could someone have stopped the Manchester Arena bomber?

2:17.6

I'm Fiona Hamilton, the Crime and Security Editor at the Times.

...

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