Manchester Arena Families Demand MI5 Be Named in New Cover-Up Law
Families of Manchester Arena victims say MI5 failed them and must face the Hillsborough Law to stop public cover-ups and restore trust.
Families who lost loved ones in the Manchester Arena bombing say MI5 let them down and should be fully included in new legislation designed to prevent the concealment of truth in public life.
A public inquiry found that MI5 failed to provide a "true picture" of the crucial intelligence it held about the suicide bomber who carried out the attack on May 22, 2017, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
The "Hillsborough Law," which is being introduced in Parliament, follows a campaign by families affected by the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 people died.
Police leaders were accused of spreading lies about that disaster, blaming Liverpool fans, and concealing evidence of their failures.
The new law will compel public officials to tell the truth during inquiries, including those into major disasters.
But Pete Weatherby, director of the campaign behind the new law, the government had "misled" them during discussions about how it would apply to the intelligence services.
He said campaigners had agreed to a situation where a key part of the law would apply to individual intelligence officers, but the government then added a "hidden" clause to the draft legislation that would prevent it from working as intended.
The government said: "We are listening to feedback on how to strengthen [the law], while also protecting national security." The new law, known as the Public Offices (Accountability) Bill, has three pillars:
The first establishes a general duty of honesty on all public officials, meaning they must actively tell the truth in their working lives.
The second is a supporting duty of honesty that applies to official investigations, including inquiries and inquests.
The third is designed to rebalance funding for legal representation for state bodies and victims during inquiries. This bill will provide for criminal penalties for breaches of the duty of candour.
Labour's manifesto for the 2024 general election stated: "Labour will introduce a 'Hillsborough Law' which will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and officials."
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Speaking last year, Sir Keir Starmer said the new law would "shift the balance of power in Britain" to ensure the state could "never again hide anything from the people it is supposed to serve". But barrister Pete Weatherby KC, director of the Hillsborough Law Now (HLN) campaign group, said the government had "misled" him during discussions about how the law would apply to MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
He represented the victims' families during the landmark Hillsborough inquiry ten years ago and has been instrumental in bringing about the new law.
He also represented the families of those killed in the Manchester Arena attack during the public inquiry into that atrocity, in which MI5 was criticised for giving misleading evidence.
"The problem was that MI5 decided to protect itself after the event, and put forward a false narrative." And that means those mistakes will be repeated in the future, and no one will trust MI5.
"If this law is passed and they are expected to tell the truth, even when things go wrong, then mistakes can be corrected and people will be safer in the future."
He added: "MI5 should not be given free rein to fabricate false narratives to protect itself, but should uphold truth and justice."
He said HLN believes that certain conditions will be imposed on MI5 and the intelligence services, as the Prime Minister himself has stated.
During the Manchester Arena public inquiry and a previous official review, MI5 provided a misleading account of the intelligence it had received about the suicide bomber before the attack.
The chairman of the public inquiry concluded that the statements did not present "the full picture." He also found that MI5 had missed a significant opportunity to take action that could have prevented the attack.
The families of five people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack have written to the Prime Minister urging him to ensure that new legislation applies fully to MI5 and other services.
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The letter was written by the families of Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, both from South Shields; Megan Hurley, 15, from Liverpool; Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from the Isle of Barra; and Kelly Brewster, 32, from Sheffield.
In the letter, the grieving families said: "You made a personal promise to introduce this legislation.
"We are now asking you to fully honour that promise by ensuring the new law applies to the security and intelligence agencies in the same way it applies to everyone else."
The letter continued: "MI5 failed our loved ones and it failed us.
"It did so by failing to prevent the Arena bombing. But then, after the attack, it compounded our suffering through its lack of candour.
"During the Manchester Arena inquiry, MI5 lied about crucial intelligence it held about the suicide bomber before the attack.
"Despite MI5 lying in a public inquiry in this way, no one has been held accountable.
"This lack of accountability needs to change. Placing a duty of candour on MI5, MI6 and GCHQ is the most direct way to bring about this change.
"We are dismayed that, as the draft bill is currently written, MI5 and other organisations are being allowed to escape a full duty of candour.
"Every security and intelligence officer should be required to tell the truth, and the leaders of the organisations should also be held fully accountable." "How many times does MI5 have to demonstrate that it cannot be trusted before something is done?
"We are asking you to keep your promise and ensure that MI5, MI6, and GCHQ are held to the same standards as everyone else."
Kelly Brewster's sister, Claire Booth, survived the bombing, and her daughter was seriously injured. She told that MI5's behaviour after the attack was "infuriating" and that she felt like "we were just collateral damage."
She added: "For MI5, it was just another day at the office. They didn't stop it [the attack], but the way they haven't been truthful about their role and their intelligence... it's just adding insult to injury. It's not right."
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