The report into the Manchester Arena attack will bring little comfort to the victims’ families

Editorial: Those who were employed to protect the public, whether in the private or the public sector, failed the people they were supposed to serve

Police at the Manchester Arena in May 2017 after the deadly suicide attack, which killed 22 people (PA)

Damning as it is, the report by Sir John Saunders into official failings prior to the Manchester Arena attack hardly comes as a shock. Its conclusions were prefigured in the reportage in the days and weeks following the deaths of 22 people in May 2017; in the Kerslake Report in 2018; and in the evidence given in public sessions since.

There were a number of missed opportunities by those responsible for security to prevent the attack – or reduce the death toll. And even when members of the public voiced concerns about the unusual behaviour of Salman Abedi, such concerns were apparently met with complacency.

There were other serious shortcomings, detailed in the Kerslake Report and confirmed and enlarged upon in the Saunders inquiry. The CCTV had incomplete coverage. The emergency services were slow to respond. The secret security service could have put Abedi under closer surveillance. As Sir John states, lives were lost and damaged because of a collective betrayal of the public. Indeed, it was members of the public, there for the Ariana Grande performance, who did do their duty, showing great courage and presence of mind amid the carnage.