The Saunders report into the Manchester arena attack

Volume 2 of the Saunders report, which detailed the emergency response to the explosion in the City Room of the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017, was published in November 2022 (Manchester Arena Inquiry, 2022). This attack killed 22 individuals, many of them children, and injured many more (Box 1).

The Saunders report is the result of a comprehensive investigation into the events surrounding that attack. Volume 2 of the report looked in detail at the emergency response, including issues relating to major incident planning and preparation as well as the emergency services' responses on the night in question.

While this report focused on where improvements could be made and highlighted failings in various areas, Sir John Saunders went to lengths to highlight that ‘the heroism shown by very many people that night is striking [with] considerable bravery [being] shown by members of the public who were visiting the building… employed to work [there]… and personnel from the emergency services'. The report expands on some of these truly heroic actions in the face of devastation and chaos in the City Room of the Manchester Arena.