More than 250 survivors and relatives of victims of the suicide bombing at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert in England are suing MI5, the contry’s domestic intelligence agency.
The attack, which happened on May 22, 2017 at Manchester Arena, left 22 people dead and more than 100 others injured.
A public inquiry released last year determined that MI5 could have had the chance to stop suicide bomber Salman Abedi at the Manchester Airport days before the massacre if it had discussed the information earlier.
“I have found a significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack,” John Saunders, the former judge who headed the investigation, said last year.
Abedi was a “subject of interest” for MI5 in 2014 but the agency closed his case because he was considered low-risk.
Hashem Abedi, the attacker’s brother, was later sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of helping to plan and execute the bombing.
The inquiry found that one officer had new intelligence about Abedi to mark him as a possible threat, but didn’t discuss it with colleagues quickly enough.
The inquiry led to a rare public statement by MI5 head Ken McCallum apologizing for the agency’s failure to “prevent the attack.”
Three law firms coordinated the group claim on behalf of the survivors and relatives and submitted it to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent court that investigates, among other things, alleged conduct by or on behalf of the U.K. intelligence services.
No further information about the complaint could be released because it is an ongoing legal matter, the firms representing the victims said in a statement.
The complaint marks the first time MI5 has been sued over failing to stop a terrorist attack, according to The Guardian.
