Manchester fire crews ‘not at fault’ for late arrival after arena bomb attack

 Firefighters should not blame themselves for turning up late to the Manchester Arena attack on May 22 last year, according to Andy Burnham, the city’s mayor.

In an open letter addressed to Manchester firefighters Burnham said frontline staff did nothing wrong on the night of the bombing, when 22 people were killed and 500 injured.

“I know you were desperate to help but were prevented from doing so by decisions taken above you,” he said. “The failure is not yours but one of process, leadership and culture.”

A review published on March 27 found that confusion over whether a gunman was at large after the bombing meant specialist firefighters were not sent to the scene for more than two hours, despite being stationed half a mile away.

It concluded that the fire service was “outside of the loop” and played “no meaningful role” during a critical period of the emergency service response effort.

Several firefighters have asked for forgiveness and Dawn Docx, Greater Manchester’s interim fire chief officer, has also apologised unreservedly, saying that the service let the region down in its “darkest hour”.