Emergency services failed to work together on night of Manchester Arena bombing, police chief tells public inquiry
Robin Smith, British Transport Police s gold commander, accepted at the public inquiry into the atrocity that he didn t contact other commanders - and called for an overhaul in the ways senior officers communicate with each other at major incidents
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Police at the scene on the night (Image: PA)
The emergency services failed to work together and adhere to established principals in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing, the senior British Transport Police commander on the night has said.
And Robin Smith, then Assistant Chief Constable and the force s gold commander for its response, called for an overhaul in the ways 999 commanders and blue light services communicate with each other during major incidents.
Police chief got taxi from Blackpool to Manchester Arena after bombing, inquiry hears
The Manchester Arena bombing inquiry continues
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British Transport Police (Image: Manchester Evening News)
A police chief got a taxi from his home in Blackpool to Manchester Arena to assume a key role on the night of the bombing - and his Blackberry device ran out of power on the way, the public inquiry into the terror attack heard.
Chief Superintendent Allan Gregory, who was British Transport Police s silver tactical commander, said he tried to contact a superintendent who lived 25 minutes away to send him to the scene as a bronze ground commander, but couldn t make the call connect and got his answerphone.
The threat level was raised to “critical” in May 2017 after the Manchester Arena bombing SUCCESSFUL joint working between emergency services was made impossible by communication problems following the Manchester Arena blast, an inquiry has heard. British Transport Police (BTP) control room staff had no direct line with their counterparts at Greater Manchester Police (GMP), as well as local ambulance and fire services, and had to call 999 and wait in the queue with the public, the inquiry heard. Inspector Ben Dawson, force incident manager on the night for BTP, could not speak with GMP s force duty officer who the inquiry has heard was overwhelmed with the volume of tasks he faced.
First hour after Arena blast was absolute chaos , says BTP inspector thisislancashire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisislancashire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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image captionInsp Ben Dawson said he could not get through to his equivalent at Greater Manchester Police
A police commander who took control after the Manchester Arena attack has described his frustration at being unable to contact emergency services.
British Transport Police (BTP) Insp Ben Dawson was based in a London control room on the night of the explosion.
Insp Dawson said the control room could not contact other police and ambulance services and his team had to ring 999 and wait in a queue with the public.
He told an inquiry the first hour after the bombing was absolute chaos .