people, Manchester bombing victims.
The inquiry found there were a number of missed opportunities to prevent or minimize the 'devastating impact' of the attack which led to the deaths of 22 people
Member of the public warned security of suspicions about Salman Abedi - one of nine missed chances to prevent suicide bombing, report says.

Police failings on the night of the Manchester Arena bomb cost lives, an inquiry report has found, after two officers on duty took a two-hour break to go for a kebab.

A report into the terror attack which killed 22 people was released on Thursday and heavily criticised "serious shortcomings in the security" on the night of the bombing.

On May 22, 2017, Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device in the foyer of the Manchester Arena, killing 10 children and 12 adults and seriously injuring 264 others.

The British Transport Police (BTP), the force responsible for patrolling the arena, was accused of failing "to give adequate consideration to the threat of terrorism" despite the UK facing a "severe" threat at the time.

A public inquiry into the attack has previously heard how BTP officers Pc Jessica Bullough and PCSO Mark Renshaw took an "inappropriate" two hour and nine minute dinner break to get a kebab five miles from the arena.

They returned to the arena after 41 minutes, but spent the rest of the time in a staff office.
Manchester Map
Returning to their patrol at 9:36pm, the pair missed Abedi arriving by just seven minutes. He was captured on CCTV "bent over" and "struggling to walk" because of the weight of his bag, which was packed with a 32kg bomb.

Pc Bullough has since admitted that were she present on her shift as she should have been, she would have likely stopped Abedi and asked him what was in his bag.

In his first report into the "systemic failures" which led to the bombing, Sir John Saunders, the chairman of the inquiry, also criticised Showsec, the firm responsible for security on the night, and SMG, the company which runs the arena.
"Everybody concerned with security at the arena should have been doing their job in the knowledge that a terrorist attack might occur on that night. They weren't," Sir John said.
Families of the 22 victims on Thursday night called for corporate manslaughter prosecutions in the wake of the report, which has paved the way for substantial civil damages claims.
Families of the Manchester Arena attack victims
© James Speakman/Mercury PressFamilies of the Manchester Arena attack victims walk into Manchester Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.
Paul Hett, the father of victim Martyn Hett, said the families were failed by the authorities "on every level", adding: "This atrocity should and could have been prevented, and 22 people would not have lost their lives."

June Tron, mother of 32-year-old Philip Tron, who also died, said it was "very hard to accept and understand" that "Philip and everybody else in the vicinity of the arena that night was placed at risk".

Sir John drew particular attention to the "striking missed opportunity" to act on the warning of a father who raised concerns about Abedi as he waited to launch his attack.

Christopher Wild, who was waiting to collect his daughter from the Ariana Grande concert, flagged Abedi to a Showsec security guard, Mohammed Agha, 15 minutes before he detonated his bomb. But Mr Wild was left feeling "fobbed off" due to the lack of concern shown by Mr Agha.

Sir John criticised BTP for not having an officer in the City Room, the arena's foyer, despite contrary instructions on the night, as if they approached Abedi it may have caused him to leave the room or immediately detonate his device.
"In either case, it is likely that fewer people would have been killed," Sir John wrote.
In the 204-page report, which is one of three to be delivered on the errors that led to the attack, Sir John highlighted as many as nine missed opportunities to prevent Abedi's suicide bombing on the night.
Sir John Saunders
© Peter Byrne/PASir John Saunders: 'Everybody concerned with security at the arena should have been doing their job in the knowledge that a terrorist attack might occur on that night. They werenโ€™t'.
"I am satisfied that there were a number of missed opportunities to alter the course of what happened that night. More should have been done," Sir John wrote.

"The most striking missed opportunity, and the one that is likely to have made a significant difference, is the attempt by Christopher Wild to bring his concerns about Abedi, who he had already challenged, to the attention of Mohammed Agha.

"Christopher Wild's behaviour was very responsible. He stated that he formed the view that Abedi might 'let a bomb off'. This was sadly all too prescient and makes all the more distressing the fact that no effective steps were taken as a result of the efforts made by Christopher Wild."
Sir John added:
"Had there been a BTP officer in the City Room after 10pm, Christopher Wild could have reported his concern to that officer instead of Mohammed Agha. Christopher Wild said that he would have taken this option if it had been available. If this had occurred, a competent BTP officer would have taken action that could have saved lives."
The report also criticized SMG for failing to address a CCTV blind spot which Abedi was able to hide in for an hour, while Showsec was criticised for its inadequate counter terrorism training and the poor patrols carried out on the night of the attack.

The chairman concluded that Abedi should have been identified as a threat by those responsible for the security of the arena and a disruptive intervention undertaken.
Salman Abedi
© GMPSalman Abedi at Victoria Station, making his way to the Manchester Arena.
"Had that occurred, I consider it likely that Salman Abedi would still have detonated his device, but the loss of life and injury is highly likely to have been less."
Sir John was unable to say "with any certainty" what would have happened if those opportunities had not been missed.

As well as the police, Sir John was severe in his criticism of Showsec and SMG.

SMG, the company that ran Manchester Arena

Even in the aftermath of the bombing, SMG, the company that ran the Manchester Arena, was found to be trying to "fob off" grieving relatives.

The company had responsibility for security in and around the arena on the night. The inquiry report found a series of failings, including "an inadequate CCTV system" which had created a "blindspot" in which Abedi was able to hide out undetected prior to the attack. The problem with CCTV was "the cause of a... missed opportunity" to have spotted Abdei's suspicious behaviour.

SMG had also failed to "instruct an expert in security" to conduct a comprehensive review of arrangements in place at the arena. Its specific risk assessment for the Ariana Grande concert was also "inadequate" because "it did not identify the threat from terrorism as a potential hazard and had descended into a box-ticking exercise".
aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing
© Peter Byrne/PAThe aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Six months after the attack in Dec 2017, John Sharkey, SMG's executive vice-president in charge of the venue, told Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett, that his company did not have responsibility for security - even though he knew that was not the case. Sir John concluded that "John Sharkey tried to mislead Figen Murray in a misguided attempt at 'damage limitation' for SMG".

Sir John added:
"I am prepared to accept that it was a challenging meeting for John Sharkey. However, it would have been a much more difficult meeting for Figen Murray, and John Sharkey should have given a straightforward and accurate response."
SMG said in a statement:
"All of us at Manchester Arena have learnt a lot since the events of that night and our security measures continue to evolve to reflect the threats we face today."
Showsec, the security firm

Showsec, the security firm hired by SMG, was subject to stinging criticism, over a lack of patrols, inadequate training for security staff and a failure to properly assess the risk of a terrorist attack on the night of the concert.

Showsec "missed an opportunity" to confront Abedi as a result of "an absence of an adequate security patrol" between 10pm and 10.30pm. A Showsec supervisor Jordan Beak had made a "pre-egress check" involving a walk through the City Room between 10.09pm and 10.18pm to ensure exit routes were clear - but he had not investigated the mezzanine area of the City Room where Abedi was waiting with his bomb. Sir John said he accepted that Mr Beak was "following the training he had been given" and that "principal responsibility for this missed opportunity lies with Showsec".

Sir John found that Showsec, owned by Live Nation, the world's biggest music promotion company, had failed to "take a number of necessary steps, some of which would have involved the spending of additional money, in order to provide a sufficient level of protection against the terrorist threat".

The inquiry concluded that Showsec had not considered the "threat from terrorism" specific to the Ariana Grande concert and had rated the risk of terrorist attack as low even when the national threat level was set at "severe".

The inquiry also highlighted "inadequate" counter-terrorism training for its staff, including for two teenagers on the night who missed opportunities to possibly stop Abedi. Training was conducted through an online platform. The inquiry also found "confusion" among security staff about how to use radios issued to them.

Sir John said that "regular and thorough patrols might have prevented, or reduced, the impact of an explosion" in the City Room and said that "omitting patrolling... was a serious failure".

Mohammed Agha and Kyle Lawler

Aged just 19 and 18 on the night, both Mr Agha and Kyle Lawler, another Showsec steward, had "missed opportunities" to challenge Abedi before the bomb was detonated at the end of the concert.

At 10.15pm, Mr Wild, there to pick up his partner's daughter from the concert, had confronted Abedi, unclear why "he appeared to be hiding".

He was concerned Abedi's bag contained a bomb and reported his concerns to Mr Agha.

Mr Wild felt he had been "fobbed off", which Mr Agha denies. He did not have a radio but made "some effort" to attract the attention of a supervisor.

Sir John said the effort was "inadequate". With 15 minutes until the end of the concert, this was a "sufficient period of time... for decisive action to be taken" concluded the inquiry.

At 10.22pm, Mr Agha called over his colleague Mr Lawler, who did have a radio. Mr Lawler failed to get through on his radio but Sir John said:
"I do not consider that his efforts were adequate... This was another missed opportunity".
Mr Agha, concluded Sir John, "did not take Christopher Wild's concern sufficiently seriously".

Sir John added:
"Christopher Wild's behaviour was very responsible. He stated that he formed the view that SA [Salman Abedi] might 'let a bomb off'. That was sadly all too prescient and makes all the more distressing the fact that no effective steps were taken as a result of the efforts made by Christopher Wild."
The inquiry's second and third reports are expected later in the year.