The Manchester Arena terrorist slipped through the net despite being known to the authorities due to serious errors by MI5 and police, MPs have found.
Salman Abedi, 22, was able to travel to Libya unmonitored and visit extremists in jail in the months leading up to the deadly attack in 2017, a report by the Intelligence and Security Committee into 2017′s five terrorist attacks has revealed.
MI5 also:
Flagged Abedi’s case for review but failed to take any action before the attack.
Failed to refer Abedi to the anti-extremism Prevent programme, despite being aware of him as far back as 2014.
Admitted for the first time that its systems moved “too slowly” in recognising the threat Abedi posed.
Failed to monitor Abedi despite him visiting terrorist contacts in jail on more than one occasion.
The terrorist detonated a suicide vest as thousands of fans left an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 2017, leaving 23 dead and 139 people wounded.
The UK was targeted in five terrorist attacks in 2017, at Westminster, London Bridge, Manchester, Finsbury Park and London’s Parsons Green. A total of 36 people were killed.
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which has access to top-level security officials and classified material, reviewed the cases after it emerged those behind the attacks had previously appeared on the radar of intelligence agencies.
Among a series of recommendations in the report is a call for the business community to follow the example of Unilever and apply pressure on communications and tech companies.
Facebook had pledged a purge of extremist material after Unilever said it would boycott the site for advertising.
The companies have allowed their services to be “used as a safe haven for extremists” and it is “frankly a disgrace”, said Dominic Grieve QC, chair of the committee.
Schemes where retailers and law enforcement share information “should have been done sooner and must now be kept under review”, they said.
Visitors to Category A inmates are subject to security checks but the monitoring of visitors to extremist inmates below Category A is “haphazard”, said MPs.
They also found the system for regulating and reporting purchases of the ingredients used to make explosive was “hopelessly out of date in dealing with the threat posed”.
Turning to specific cases, the report found that in the case of the Westminster attacker Khalid Masood, despite his name appearing in a separate investigation, it took MI5 six years to discover his identity.
Grieve said despite several requests the Home Office had failed to provide the information requested to MPs to allow them to investigate.
“This is unacceptable: from what we have seen to date, there were fundamental failings in the handling of this case by the Home Office, the police and Surrey County Council,” he said.
“This litany of errors will require will require a separate comprehensive review, to which the Home Office must be directly answerable.”
He added that “potential opportunities to prevent [the attack] were missed”.
Grieve also said it “was striking” how many similar issues were flagged in the case of Fusilier Lee Rigby. “The lessons from last year’s tragic events must now result in real action,” he said.
In response to the report, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: “My thoughts remain with the victims and families of last year’s attack - which only serve to strengthen our resolve against those who seek to threaten our freedoms and do us harm.
“Following the attacks, the Government, police and MI5 undertook a series of rigorous reviews to ensure we are all doing everything we can to tackle the evolving threat of terrorism.
“As a result, we have updated our counter-terrorism strategy, introduced new legislation to allow threats to be disrupted earlier and have increased information-sharing with local authorities.
“We are also ensuring technology companies play their part by stopping terrorists from exploiting their platforms.”
The Five Terror Attacks Of 2017
Westminster
Khalid Masood drove a hire car across Westminster Bridge, killing four pedestrians on the pavement and injuring dozens more.
After crashing his vehicle into railings close to Westminster Tube station, Masood ran into Parliament Square and fatally stabbed police officer Keith Palmer.
The attack, which lasted just 82 seconds, came to an end when Masood was fatally shot in the chest by an armed officer.
The five terror attacks in the UK in 2017:
Manchester
Twenty-two people were killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a device in the lobby of Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
The youngest victim, Saffie Roussos, was just eight years old.
London Bridge
Three terrorists drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before getting out and running into Borough Market.
Eight people were killed as Rachid Redouane, Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba – who were all wearing fake explosive vests ≠ start stabbing people with long knives.
Armed police shot the three attackers dead just eight minutes after the first emergency call.
Finsbury Park
A man died and several other people were injured as a van was driven into a group of Muslim worshippers outside a north London mosque.
The vehicle hit pedestrians near Finsbury Park Mosque as they were leaving Ramadan night prayers around midnight.
Darren Osborn was jailed for life terrorism-related murder.
Parsons Green
An improvised explosive device was detonated on a packed Tube train during the morning rush hour, injuring 22 people.
Ahmed Hassan, 18, was convicted of terrorism offences.