The Manchester Arena Inquiry was finally coming to a close today, with more key figures including health and prison service bosses due to answer questions about whether lessons have been learned from past mistakes.
The inquiry has found a series of failings in three damning reports in the wake of the May 2017 terror attack. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed himself and 22 innocents when he detonated a huge improvised device in his backpack as concert-goers were leaving an Ariana Grande gig.
The first of three inquiry reports, published in June 2021 by inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders, found 'serious shortcomings' by the venue's owners SMG, their security contractor Showsec and British Transport Police (BTP).
Sir John ruled the terrorist should have been identified that night and, had he been, 'the loss of life and injury is highly likely to have been less', a conclusion that angered families of those who died. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community Sir John's second report ruled one of those who died, John Atkinson, could have survived if the emergency services response had been better.