Dad of youngest Manchester Arena attack victim says MI5 have 'blood on their hands'

• Andrew Roussos questions how bomber Salman Abedi could evade one of the world's best- known security services

The father of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena attack says MI5 has "blood on its hands" for not intercepting the bomber's plot.

Saffie-Rose Roussos, 8, from Leyland, was one of 22 people killed after a bomb went off in the Manchester arena after an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

The third report from the Manchester Arena Inquiry will seek to answer how bomber Salman Abedi evaded the UK security services to carry out the attack. 

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Andrew Roussos said: "When you hold this information and look at the whole picture for MI5 to miss that - one of the world's best known security services, and for me to lose my child... I'm sorry but yes, they have blood on their hands."

Salman Abedi was known to the security services. He first came to their attention in 2010 and was subject of interest in 2014 and 2015 but he had been taken off their watch list.

A meeting was meant to take place nine days after the attack to reassess the bomber, but by then it was too late. 

Nick Aldworth, the former UK Counter Terrorism National Coordinator, said: "Abedi wasn't referred to the prevent programme despite there being a significant amount of information about him being vulnerable to radicalisation.

"The second opportunity missed was failure to undertake a stop of him when he returned from Libya before the attack."

The Home Office has refused to comment until the report is published.

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