Manchester Arena Inquiry: Ex-police chief cleared over evidence

A former police officer will not face disciplinary proceedings over his evidence at the inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing.

Ch Insp Dale Sexton was the force duty officer for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and was working in the control room on the night of the 2017 attack.

The inquiry heard he thought he had "got away" with concealing information to an earlier review into the bombing.

But the police watchdog found no evidence he had committed an offence.

A solicitor representing some of the bereaved families said they would be "shocked and disappointed" by the decision.

The investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) followed a referral by GMP and a complaint by the victims' families.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more injured in the explosion at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

In May 2021, the arena inquiry heard Mr Sexton declared Operation Plato, a pre-arranged terrorist plan for a marauding firearms attack within minutes but did not alert the fire and ambulance services.

When Mr Sexton, who has since retired, was asked during his testimony about why he had not told a previous review about concealing the information, he replied: "I felt as if I'd got away with it."

He said it was not a decision he was proud of but believed "it was the right thing to do" and accepted he should have previously told the full truth but denied lying.

But inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders later concluded he was "satisfied" Mr Sexton did not make a decision on the night to conceal the fact he had declared Operation Plato from other emergency services.

In a statement this week, the IOPC said Sir John had considered the officer's account against a wealth of evidence and determined he was mistaken in his belief about making a "deliberate decision to withhold information".

"We independently examined information provided to the inquiry as well as further evidence we gathered, including accounts from the officer," the IOPC said.

"We found no evidence that would challenge Sir John's conclusion or indicate that the officer may have committed an offence or behaved in a way that could amount to misconduct."

Richard Scorer, of Slater and Gordon Solicitors, who represents some of the bereaved families, said they would "be shocked and disappointed but they remain of the view that Mr Sexton failed in his role that night".

The arena attack did not involve a gunman, but the inquiry chairman Sir John concluded Mr Sexton's initial declaration of Operation Plato was "reasonable" given early reports about the incident.

However, he criticised Mr Sexton's "failure" to inform other emergency services and said this had "significant consequences".

The chairman also criticised Mr Sexton for the "significant mistake" of not declaring a major incident.

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