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Ex-GMP officer investigated over Manchester inquiry evidence

The Greater Manchester Police duty officer in the control room on the night of the 2017 terror attack is being investigated by a watchdog over his evidence at a public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bomb.

In May, the inquiry into the Manchester Arena attack heard how Ch Insp Dale Sexton declared Operation Plato, a pre-arranged terrorist plan, within minutes but did not alert the fire and ambulance services. When Sexton, who has since retired, was then 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."

The investigation follows a referral by GMP to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, and then a complaint by 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.

British Transport Police has said that it had made a ‘mandatory referral’ of five officers to the IOPC over its part in ‘missed opportunities’ which ‘altered the course of what happened’ on the night of the attack.

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