Manchester Arena bombing survivors case due in court amid claims MI5 trying to 'block' legal action

The first stage of a lawsuit being taken against MI5 by victims of the Manchester Arena bombing is set to be heard within the next fortnight, the Manchester Evening News can reveal.

It comes amid claims that the security agency is trying to 'block' the legal action being brought by survivors and the families of those killed in the 2017 atrocity.

The public inquiry into the attack found the bombing might have been prevented if MI5 had acted on intelligence received in the months before the attack when two pieces of information about Abedi were assessed at the time by the security service to not relate to terrorism.

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Last Spring, the agency's Director general Ken McCallum expressed “deep regret” that intelligence was not gathered which may have stopped suicide bomber Salman Abedi in his tracks, and said he was “profoundly sorry” that MI5 was unable to prevent it.

Lawyers representing more than 250 people caught up in a terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert have submitted a claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).

The IPT is an independent judicial body which provides right of redress to anyone who believes they have been the victim of unlawful action by a public authority using covert investigative techniques.

The M.E.N has now learned a two-day public hearing before the IPT has been pencilled in for the week beginning November 4, where it is expected legal arguments will be made regarding the case.

According to The Sunday Times, MI5’s legal team is arguing that the claim should be thrown out by the IPT because it was lodged more than 12 months after the attack.

But the families of the victims argue the evidence of missed intelligence only emerged during the public inquiry, which submitted its final report in March 2023, the publication says.

MI5 is also expected to argue that the findings of the public inquiry were not sufficiently critical of the intelligence service to merit the claim, they add.

Charlotte Hodgson, the mother of 15-year-old Olivia Campbell-Hardy, from Bury, who was killed in the explosion, told them she was she was “disgusted” by MI5’s response to their claim.

“We want the truth, we want justice," she said. "I am sick of these companies and organisations trying to wriggle out of justice for my daughter.”

The Home Office said it was unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

In a joint statement issued in April 2024,Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter, the three lead firms representing the group said: "Legal teams representing injured survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 can confirm that they have collectively submitted a group claim on behalf of more than 250 clients to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

""As it is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable or provide any further details, or comment further, at this stage." They have not commented on the latest developments.