Manchester Arena bombing victim would have survived but for ‘inadequate’ emergency response, inquiry finds
A victim of the Manchester Arena bombing would likely have survived had it not been for the inadequate emergency response, an inquiry has found.
John Atkinson’s injuries were “survivable” but he did not receive the “treatment and care he should have”, said Sir John Saunders, chairman of the Manchester Arena Inquiry.
Mr Atkinson, a 28-year-old healthcare worker, was one of 22 innocent people who lost their lives following the suicide bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
A report examining the emergency response to the attack found that “significant aspects… went wrong” and “the performance of the emergency services was far below the standard” it should have been.
“Some of what went wrong had serious and, in the case of John Atkinson, fatal consequences for those directly affected by the explosion,” Sir John said.
The inquiry has heard that firefighters did not arrive at Manchester Arena until two hours after the bombing; only one paramedic entered the blast scene in the first 40 minutes, and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) did not declare a major incident for more than two hours.
The father of the youngest victim – eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos – described the emergency response as “shameful” and “inadequate”, with some experts telling the inquiry she could have survived had the response been different.
Saffie-Rose Roussos was the youngest victim of the attack
However Sir John concluded that “there was only a remote possibility that she could have survived with different treatment and care”.
“On the evidence that I have accepted, what happened to Saffie-Rose Roussos represents a terrible burden of injury,” he said.
“It is highly likely that her death was inevitable even if the most comprehensive and advanced medical treatment had been initiated immediately after injury.”
Emergency response ‘prevented victim’s survival’
In the second of three reports into the Manchester Arena bombing, Sir John found that 20 of the 22 people who died in the attack suffered injuries that were “unsurvivable”.
However in the case of Mr Atkinson, the retired High Court judge said that had the victim “received the treatment and care he should have, it is likely that he would have survived”.
“It is likely that inadequacies in the emergency response prevented his survival,” Sir John added.
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Arena bombing victims ‘let down’
Mr Atkinson, a fitness fanatic whose family described him as their “heart and soul”, had received tickets to the Ariana Grande concert as a Christmas present and went with a friend.
He was standing just six metres away from Salman Abedi when the bomber detonated his device at about 10.30pm on 22 May 2017, causing severe injuries to Mr Atkinson’s legs.
Read more:
How emergency crews responded to arena bombing
Security failings that led to Manchester attack
The inquiry heard Mr Atkinson, from Bury, Greater Manchester, lost a significant amount of blood as he laid in agony on the foyer floor for 47 minutes before he was carried downstairs by police on a makeshift stretcher to a casualty clearing area at Victoria station.
More than 20 minutes passed – as ambulances queued outside – before he went into cardiac arrest at 11.47pm and was finally rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary at midnight, where he was pronounced dead about 25 minutes later.
A member of the public, Ronald Blake, held an improvised tourniquet on Mr Atkinson’s right leg for up to an hour before paramedics reached him.
Only three paramedics entered the area known as the City Room, where the bomb went off, on the night – two of them just a few minutes before Mr Atkinson was evacuated.
He was not triaged, assessed or assisted by North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) personnel during his time in the foyer.
In his report, Sir John said he accepted the conclusion of experts that Mr Atkinson “would have survived if given prompt and expert medical treatment”.
He concluded that medical tourniquets should have been applied to Mr Atkinson’s legs and dressings applied to his wounds earlier.
The inquiry chairman said “responsibility for that failure” rested with the arena’s operator SMG and the management of Emergency Training UK, which was contracted to provide healthcare at the venue.
He added that more paramedics should have been in the City Room earlier and they would likely have “identified the need for urgent treatment and evacuation” of Mr Atkinson.
Police at the scene of the bombing on 22 May 2017
“That did not occur,” Sir John said. “Responsibility for that failure rests with NWAS.
“Such treatment would, I am satisfied, have enabled John Atkinson to arrive at hospital prior to having a cardiac arrest and would probably have saved his life.”
Sir John also said that Mr Atkinson should have been moved from the City Room promptly and if firefighters had been at the scene at the time, the victim would have been “prioritised for evacuation”.
He also pointed out that if more ambulances had been at the scene shortly after 11pm, Mr Atkinson would have received treatment and he would have been taken to hospital sooner.
“Either way, he would have reached hospital before having a cardiac arrest and is likely to have survived,” Sir John said.
“John Atkinson would probably have survived had it not been for inadequacies in the emergency response.”
The victims of the Manchester Arena bombing
‘Mistakes’ made by emergency services
In his report, Sir John said “significant aspects of the emergency response on 22 May 2017 went wrong” and “this should not have happened”.
The inquiry chairman said he had “no doubt that lives were saved by the emergency response”, but added: “Looked at overall, and objectively, the performance of the emergency services was far below the standard it should have been.”
He said GMP “did not lead the response” the way it should have; Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) “failed to turn up at the scene at a time when they could provide the greatest assistance”; and NWAS “failed to send sufficient paramedics” into the City Room and “did not use available stretchers to remove casualties in a safe way”.
The inquiry heard that police officers, arena staff and members of the public were forced to carry injured people using advertising hoardings, crowd barriers and tables due to the lack of stretchers, which Sir John said was “a painful and unsafe way of moving the injured”.
He added that “one of the most emotional and upsetting parts of the inquiry” was hearing of the “despair” of those injured, who could hear ambulance sirens outside but saw few paramedics arrive.
Among the failures identified in the report:
• Inspector Dale Sexton, the force duty officer at GMP’s headquarters, became “overburdened” and made a “significant mistake” in failing to declare a major incident in the early stages of the emergency response. GMP only declared a major incident close to 1am – two and a half hours after the bomb went off
• After inaccurate reports of gunshots, Insp Sexton declared Operation Plato – the emergency response to an attack by a marauding terrorist with a gun – but failed to communicate this to other emergency services
• GMFRS station manager Andrew Berry sent firefighters to Philips Park fire station, three miles away from the scene, meaning some firefighters were driving away from the incident and past ambulances travelling in the opposite direction
• Inspector Benjamin Dawson, from British Transport Police (BTP), declared a major incident around 10 minutes after the attack but did not tell GMP or GMFRS
• There was “substantial confusion” over the location of a rendezvous point for emergency services, with each service choosing their own
• NWAS declared a major incident about 15 minutes after the attack but this was not shared with any other emergency service
Sir John said “there was the failure of anyone in a senior position in GMFRS to take a grip of the situation during the critical period of the response”.
He acknowledged he had “criticised a large number of people” who he considered had “made mistakes on the night”, adding that “some of those criticisms may seem harsh, particularly given the situation that those individuals were faced with”.
“They were trying to do their best,” he added. “I do understand the enormous pressures that they were acting under.
“They had to do many things in a short time and it may not be surprising that things went wrong. I am not unsympathetic to them.
“But I need to identify mistakes where they have been made because otherwise there is no prospect of preventing them in the future.”
Read more:
The missed opportunities to stop Salman Abedi
Manchester Arena lives could have been saved – but warning was ‘fobbed off’
Salman Abedi carried out the suicide bombing
Among a series of recommendations, Sir John said that “in the event that public funding cuts are in the future considered necessary by the government, the Home Office should consider whether some funding arrangement for police services different from that applied in the post-2010 period is necessary”.
Responding to the report, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said it was “a devastating reminder of the Manchester Arena attack and the horror of that night”.
“Without doubt, our emergency services show incredible courage when responding to incidents of this magnitude,” she said.
“It’s right that we reflect and work together to learn from this tragedy. I will carefully consider the recommendations made so far to strengthen our response.”
Sir John’s first report on security issues at the arena venue was issued last June and highlighted a string of “missed opportunities” to identify Abedi as a threat before he walked across the City Room foyer and detonated his shrapnel-laden device.
The third and final report will focus on the radicalisation of Abedi and what the intelligence services and counter-terrorism police knew, and if they could have prevented the attack. It will be published at a later date.
A 14-year-old girl who attempted to murder two teachers and a pupil at a school in Wales has been sentenced to 15 years in detention.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was previously found guilty of attempting to murder teachers Fiona Elias and Liz Hopkin and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford.
Emergency services were called to the school on 24 April last year, in what the trial heard was a “serious episode of violence” during the mid-morning break after the girl took her father’s fishing “multi-tool” to school.
She had admitted to three counts of wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article on a school premises, but a jury found her guilty of attempted murder in February after a week-long trial.
Following her arrest, the teenager told officers she was “pretty sure” the incident would be on the news, and added “that’s one way to be a celebrity”.
Both Mrs Elias and Mrs Hopkin “received significant and serious injuries”, Swansea Crown Court heard.
Mrs Hopkin was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff after she sustained “four stab wounds”, while Mrs Elias and the pupil also attended hospital for treatment.
Ammanford in Carmarthenshire
‘Changed my life forever’
Reading her victim personal statement from the witness box on Monday, Fiona Elias said the incident had shown her that life was “fragile” and had been “a steep learning curve”.
“Walking out on duty that day would change my life forever,” she said – a moment which “replays itself over and over no matter how much time passes”.
“It’s not easy, and I know I’ll continue to face challenges, but every day I’m taking step towards healing,” Mrs Elias said.
Addressing the defendant, Mrs Elias said “your motive was clear, you intended to murder me” but that she was stopped “thanks to Liz’s selfless actions”.
She said she was not “ruling out the possibility of a meeting with [the pupil] in the future,” but that she first needed to know she would “engage with the interventions that will be put in place”.
Outlining her plans to campaign for safer working conditions at schools, Mrs Elias said: “I never expected to give my blood, but I will always give my heart to Ysgol Dyffryn Aman and to the world of education.”
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The teenager, who can’t be named, is due to be sentenced in April.
‘Right place at the right time’
Liz Hopkin said it had been “the worst experience of [her] life” but that she was “glad” she was “in the right place at the right time” to protect Mrs Elias.
“I’m still here, I’m still alive, though at the time I was sure that I was going to die,” she told the court.
“Physically, my wounds have healed but the scars remain.”
Mrs Hopkin added that the thought of returning to a career in teaching now filled her with “anxiety and dread”.
“You were prepared to kill someone you did not know,” she said, addressing the defendant, who sat in the court for proceedings, until she moved to the dock for sentence.
“The decision to end my life was never yours to make.”
But Mrs Hopkin said she worried about the defendant’s future, adding: “I don’t want you to be punished forever but I do want you to take every opportunity to make your life better.”
Concluding her victim personal statement, Mrs Hopkin said: “It has changed me in ways I never wanted and that is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Pic: PA
‘Very complex young girl’
Prosecuting, William Hughes KC said aggravating factors in the case included use of a knife, the fact two of the victims were “carrying out a public service” and that the offending took place in public.
In mitigation, Caroline Rees KC said the defendant was “a very complex young girl”.
She said she had shown remorse, had a “difficult background” and also the fact there were two trials.
Handing down his sentence, Judge Paul Thomas said the defendant would serve half of the 15-year sentence before she can be considered for release.
Addressing the defendant, he said: “What you did in school almost a year ago the day has caused a large number of people a great deal of harm and upset. It has hugely affected many lives, including, of course, your own.”
“The simple fact is you tried to kill three people, two teachers and another pupil,” he added.
“I think that it is very important here that what you did you did in full of so many other pupils…In my view you wanted as many of your fellow pupils as possible to see what you intended to do.”
The Judge added that “for one reason or other, [the defendant wasn’t] really listening” to the victim impact statements of Mrs Elias and Mrs Hopkin.
He said he did not think the teenager was “genuinely sorry” for what she did, adding: “You showed no emption or even interest in how they felt that day or ever since.”
UK
Nazi flags, patient ‘sexually assaulted’, ‘dog poo left at whistleblower’s home’: Sky News investigates UK’s ‘worst ambulance service’
A grandmother who claims she was sexually assaulted by a private paramedic on the way to hospital has told Sky News she has been failed by the ambulance service.
Warning: This article contains references to sexual abuse and suicide
It comes as a staff survey of the same service – the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) – heard damning claims of a culture of discrimination and bullying; with allegations of Nazi flags on team video calls and a “boy’s club” culture where whistleblowers are punished.
It’s been more than a year since a Sky News investigation first heard of a culture of rampant sexual harassment and abuse in ambulance services.
These issues have existed for decades right across the country.
But now the GMB union, which represents ambulance workers, is calling on the chief executive of SECAmb, Simon Weldon, to resign.
It’s after a survey of workers heard high instances of inappropriate behaviour and bullying; with a huge fear of speaking out.
It’s led the GMB to call for an independent investigation, with one representative branding the ambulance trust “the worst in the country”.
The trust told us it is committed to working with unions for positive change.
‘I just lay there, terrified’
Juliette was treated by paramedics after she was hit by a car while cycling
Juliette, 65, has spent four years trying to get her local ambulance trust to listen. In 2021, she accused a private paramedic working with SECAmb of sexually assaulting her.
Hit by a car while cycling through Surrey, she remembers lying on the stretcher in agony, afraid to move in case she was paralysed. Two paramedics carried out assessments for around 90 minutes before driving her to hospital.
But as soon as she was alone in the back with just one of them, she claims the male paramedic suddenly told her he wanted to “check her hips”.
“There was no asking, no consent,” she says. And instead of touching her hips, she claims he sexually assaulted her.
“With his left hand, he opened my shorts up – and put his right hand into my cycling shorts.
“Between my legs.”
Juliette says she was left feeling ‘insulted, betrayed and humiliated’
She doesn’t want to go into the details, but she says she temporarily froze, powerless and terrified of what he might do. All the while he stared down into her eyes and said nothing.
“I felt so uncomfortable. Shamed, frightened, shocked. I didn’t want it to continue.”
A letter of formal complaint
She said her brain eventually “snapped into place” and she moved her legs. She claims he then removed his hand, and sat behind her head in silence for the rest of the journey.
“I just lay there – terrified,” she whispers.
She reported it to the police the following day, but with no CCTV in the ambulance, it was her word against his. With no hope of a successful prosecution, the Met Police dropped the case.
South East Coast Ambulance’s response to a request for CCTV images
Then she turned her attention to the ambulance service, hopeful it would act.
We’ve seen correspondence between Juliette’s lawyers and SECAmb, which promised to respond to the formal complaint within 25 days. That was repeatedly delayed for several months.
“It was about seven months after the accident. They still hadn’t acknowledged anything to do with the sexual assault,” she recalls.
“They hadn’t answered any questions.”
Eventually, they effectively said the assault hadn’t happened; claiming that Juliette herself had started to remove her cycling shorts, and that “consent was given” for an examination after she complained of a pain in her leg.
She unequivocally denies every detail of this account.
She says it left her feeling “insulted, betrayed and humiliated”.
Why – she asks – would somebody think she had “wasted all this time”.
“It’s too late for me,” she adds, but she is making a stand to help others avoid the same trauma.
Amelia (not her real name) talking to Sky News’ Rachael Venables
Culture of discrimination, harassment and bullying
The GMB represents a large number of the 4,000 SECAmb staff, and recently carried out a survey of their members about their experiences of working life.
From the nearly 900 responses, the union claims they identified a culture of discrimination towards women staff members with sexual harassment, bullying, and a general “boys’ club” culture.
Of those surveyed, 25.6% had experienced bullying and 26% had witnessed inappropriate conduct. Racism was witnessed by 16% and sexual harassment by 17.2%.
What’s more, 80% didn’t feel confident the trust would support them if they flagged concerning behaviour.
‘He’s always been into Nazi stuff’
Ambulance worker Amelia (not her real name) told Sky News she finally blew the whistle on inappropriate behaviour a few years ago after she joined a video call with colleagues to discuss staffing levels.
One of the managers joined them from home. To Amelia’s shock, he appeared on their office screen with a large red, white and black Nazi swastika flag prominently behind him.
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NHS manager joined call with Nazi flag
On his desk was a framed photo of Adolf Hitler, next to what she says looked like a young woman at graduation. On the bookshelves sat a red swastika armband and what she was later told was a World War Two grenade.
She was horrified.
“I kept looking around the room thinking, ‘why is no one saying anything?’… When I spoke to people afterwards they said: ‘Oh yeah… he’s always been into Nazi stuff.”
At first, she blew the whistle anonymously, but was told she’d have to name herself and put in a formal grievance for it to be investigated.
A report seen by Sky News found the manager’s “inappropriate behaviour” should have been challenged, but he still works for SECAmb.
Amelia claims she was isolated by her colleagues, frozen out of meetings and uninvited to team events, saying “it killed my career”.
An independent report found there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that she had been deliberately excluded.
At one point the police were involved, then days later, she says, “I had bags of dog faeces on my doorstep. That went on for a few days, I felt like a prisoner in my own home”.
“Whenever I heard sirens, I got palpitations. I was terrified of who would be in that ambulance.”
‘They become the problem’
When people like Amelia speak out “they become the problem”, says Lib Whitfield, a senior GMB organiser.
Lib started working with the trust eight years ago, after an independent report was published, highlighting behaviours similar to those referenced in this article.
Senior GMB organiser Lib Whitfield
The culture is now the “worst it’s ever been”, says Lib, and she believes it’s the “worst in the country”.
“I am receiving calls every single day from members who are suicidal,” she adds.
Lib says the union has now written to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, with three demands.
“Firstly, we need a full independent investigation into the culture of SECAmb that results in actions and not just words,” she says.
“Secondly, we are calling for the resignation of the current chief executive who has overseen this getting worse.
“And thirdly, we are calling for an interim chief executive to be appointed who is external to SECAmb and who can have external reporting to ensure they are not corrupted.”
Read more
‘I was given a choice of bosses to sleep with’: Life as a female paramedic
Ambulance services must stamp out sexual harassment and bullying, report says
We took these allegations to the ambulance trust, which wanted to point out that the alleged events happened before Mr Weldon took over as chief executive.
It also said it had issues with the way the anonymous survey was conducted.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “We continue to work hard to make SECAmb a safe organisation for all of our people and are committed to drive real change.
“The historic cases highlighted were thoroughly investigated, including through independent external reviews, and we firmly believe these cases do not reflect the views of the majority of our people on how it feels to work at SECAmb currently.
“We continue to engage openly with the whole trust about the further improvements we want to make and about the changes needed for the ambulance sector as whole.
“We remain absolutely committed to working with our unions to achieve this, although this will only happen with constructive collaboration on all sides.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting did not respond to our request for an interview, but in a statement a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This is an extremely concerning report and we are looking closely at it. Sexual harassment or abuse within the NHS is completely unacceptable and must be dealt with appropriately.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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