Terrorist attack on Manchester Arena could have been prevented – Diane Abbott

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s publication into the 2017 attacks, said:

“It’s shocking to learn the terrible terrorist attack on the Manchester Arena could have been prevented.“This raises serious questions for the entire policing and security system, not simply MI5 alone. These questions include the proper identification, prioritisation and prevention of terrorists, which is an increasingly integrated process, involving multiple agencies, or at least it should be.

“But this government has undermined policing with cuts of 21,000 officers. And community policing, the frontline ears and eyes on the ground in the fight against terror, has been hardest hit.

“This report is additional evidence that the imposition of austerity on the police is undermining public safety and security.”

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