A damning inquiry report into the Manchester arena bombing has found major failings by the police, fire and ambulance services. At least one of those killed would likely have survived had it not been for a response that has been described as ill-prepared, delayed and chaotic. Burnham said the report raised serious questions for the whole of the UK. “The stark truth is that we were not prepared as a country for a major terrorist attack of this nature outside London,” he told the BBC on Friday. He said the leadership of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the area’s fire services in 2017 was “poor”, with “a poor internal culture and a failure to work together. We have changed that, but I don’t want to sit here and sound complacent. There is more to be done.” Speaking after the publication of Sir John Saunders’ report, Burnham said he had been misled by senior GMP officials. He said the force had “sought for too long to cling to a corporate narrative suggesting it had acted effectively”. He added: “This was not only disrespectful to the families and those injured, it had the effect of misleading myself and the deputy mayor, denied everyone the opportunity to learn and delayed the action needed to improve the force. This is unfortunately something we have seen in the wake of other disasters and a pattern that continues to repeat itself.” He said there should be a duty of candor on all public servants, enabling people at all levels to say what they felt they needed to say. A statutory duty of honesty was recommended five years ago by James Jones, former Bishop of Liverpool, in his report on the experience of the Hillsborough families. “Since a previous prime minister [Theresa May] personally commissioned his review, I find it disrespectful to her, to the families of Hillsborough, to the families of Manchester Arena and to the Grenfell families, that this review has sat on a Whitehall shelf for five whole years with no response from the government”. Burnham said when he had evidence of the force’s failings he had acted. “GMP is a very different police force today,” he said. He also pointed out that GMP last week pulled out of the special measures, which were imposed two years ago after a report revealed that around 80,000 crimes were not properly recorded. Among the changes to emergency services planned is the creation of a joint control room for Greater Manchester fire and police. Burnham also said that if there was a similar atrocity to that of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, the police chief and the fire chief would “be in the same room, both leading from the front, providing absolute clarity. what was expected”. The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) was also heavily criticized for failings including not sending enough paramedics, not communicating properly and not using available stretchers to remove victims safely. The current leaders of four emergency services – police, transport police, fire and ambulance – all appeared at a briefing after the report was published. None were in place in 2017. All four accepted the report’s findings and apologized unreservedly for the failings of their services. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. They were asked by the Guardian what personal emotions they felt. Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, acknowledged that nothing could come close to the emotions felt by the bereaved families or the survivors. But she said she felt “quite miserable” with a combination of “real sadness, real disappointment, an element of shame. But also a real, genuine determination to make sure this never happens again.” He said he wanted to make sure that “the hurt and the terrible pain that people are in is not completely for nothing” and that prompted him and his colleagues to “make absolutely sure that our response is first class, it’s robust and it does what he is supposed to do in extremis’. Dave Russell, the fire chief, echoed those sentiments. “I feel sad and ashamed,” he said. Daren Mochrie, chief executive of NWAS, said he felt “genuine sadness and disappointment that we made mistakes and didn’t get things right for everyone on the night”. He said he knew the feelings of “pain, loss, fear and anger” would not go away, but the agency had acted to address the failings. “I admit it seems a little too late. However, it is important to do so.” Mohri said a number of steps have been taken to initiate change and improve communication, including more rigorous and ongoing training. “I am confident that if something like this happens again, the response will have more effective preparation, management and coordination between the blue light partners.”
