It is axiomatic that when something has been tried several times over and failed each time, whatever that is needs changing. This is one simple lesson that can be drawn from the Sir John Saunders inquiry into the Manchester Arena terrorist attack. We now have far too many case studies and reports that suggest, clearly, that our current approach to addressing how to create an effective response to terrorist attacks is deficient. The time has come to suggest something new and to abandon the existing model.

 

Insufficient Operation Plato

In looking to replace the existing model the first thing everyone needs to understand is that a simple call on Operation Plato (the confirmation of an ongoing armed marauding attack, such as was seen in Paris in 2015) was never going to be enough. Even the mention of Operation Plato being called was always going to create an understandable hesitancy in the minds of first responders. After all, did we learn nothing from the events in Cumbria in which Derrick Bird killed himself and 12 other people in 2010?

 

Read the full article on our digital issue, page 28-29.

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