MI5 received two separate warnings that Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was buying dangerous chemicals
MI5 Officials failed to respond to two separate alerts that the Manchester Arena attackers had purchased bomb-making materials months before the riots.
The Mail on Sunday learned that the agency had received two “information” regarding chemical purchases by Salman Abedi and his associates, but did not realize the “importance” of the information.
Sir John Saunders, chairman of the inquiry, wrote in the final report that the delay in reporting the second intelligence information within MI5 and to the police “has significantly reduced the opportunity to take action that could have prevented the attack.” I missed it.”
However, sources dealing with national security issues say 22-year-old Abedi and his associates have been used to create an explosive substance called triacetone triperoxide (TATP), dubbed “the mother of Satan.” It tells us two pieces of information related to the purchase of a ‘precursor chemical’. .
It was this substance that was contained in the deadly bomb that killed 22 victims, half of them children, at the end of Ariana Grande’s concert on May 22, 2017.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that the agency has received two ‘informations’ about the purchase of chemicals by Salman Abedi (pictured)
It is unclear why the information was improperly processed.
Relatives of the victims reacted angrily last night. “This information is key to understanding the scale of the intelligence failure.
Roussos and at least 15 other family members have previously spoken of plans to sue MI5 for negligence. The Manchester Arena Investigation was highly critical of MI5, blaming it for intelligence “failures” in preparation for the attack.
It was these damning conclusions that led MI5 Director Ken McCallum to issue a rare public apology to the victims’ families. held an evidence hearing.
Over ten days of sessions, Sir John heard evidence from five MI5 officers. This includes the person who actually processed and evaluated the two pieces of information.
Sir John said in his report that Witness J, who was speaking on behalf of the Service, said that the two pieces of information were deemed not related to terrorism.
However, eyewitnesses A, B, and C, who are MI5 officers, told the investigation that the second piece of information, when considered alongside the first piece of information, could be a “imminent national security concern.” He said he thinks there is.
Nonetheless, the study found that these two pieces of information were not processed quickly enough or shared with counter-terrorism police. Meanwhile, MI5’s own internal reporting was delayed and did not provide enough background for other officers to fully understand its significance.
The youngest victim of the atrocities, Andrew Roussos, eight-year-old daughter Saffie-Rose (pictured), said: “This information is key to understanding the scale of the intelligence failure.”
Sir John concluded that if MI5 had acted on that information, Abedi could have been stopped and searched at Manchester airport four days before the attack on his return from a trip to Libya.
Investigations also revealed that he may have been tracked down afterward, and that MI5 may have landed him in a Nissan Micra that was being used to store homemade explosives.
Abedi and his brother Hashem, 26, who are currently serving life sentences, persuaded two cousins and a friend to buy sulfuric acid from Amazon.
At Hashem Abedi’s trial in the Old Bailey, we heard he told two cousins (who were admitted to wrongdoing by police) that the acid was for refilling car batteries. However, it was actually one of the materials needed for the bomb.
He then purchased hydrogen peroxide, the main ingredient in TATP, through a fake Amazon account. MI5 claimed that officers who analyzed the information deemed it to be a “criminal act” related to “drugs or organized crime”.
Hydrogen peroxide can be used in hydroponics, growing cannabis plants in water. Salman and Hashem Abedi were drug users in the past.
However, this chemical was also a key ingredient in the suicide bomber used in the London transport bombings of July 7, 2005.
A Home Office spokesperson speaking on behalf of MI5 last night said: [Sir John] has published his findings and the government does not engage in speculation about them.
