Terrorist atrocities have sadly been all too common in recent years, and it is usually the innocent who are caught up in the carnage that ensues destroying lives and families indiscriminately. A government inquiry into the 2017 bombing of an Ariana Grande concert has found that the secret service agency MI5 was remiss in their monitoring of the perpetrator Salman Abedi. A senior officer stated that in retrospect, it had been a mistake not to question Abedi when he returned to the UK from Libya, four days before the attack. The hearing was told that it had been discovered that Abedi was in regular contact with three “subjects of interest”. One had planned to travel to Syria, another had links with Al Qaeda, while the third had connections with extremists in Libya. The opportunity to confront Abedi when he entered the country was missed and he immediately took a taxi from the airport to his bomb store, where he could make his final attack preparations. The inquiry was told that his “extremist views” were probably influenced by his father, who had refused to help in the Police investigations and remains a suspect. In 1992 the family moved to the UK after falling foul of General Gadaffi’s regime. The father had supported Islamists, who were seeking to overthrow Gadaffi, and Britain decided to grant him and his family asylum. Twenty-two people lost their lives, and hundreds were badly injured at the Arena when Abedi detonated his homemade bomb. One of those killed, as she waited with her husband Paul at the foyer, was detective constable Elaine MacIver, who was off duty at the time. They had gone to the Arena to collect their thirteen-year-old daughter who was attending the concert. Paul MacIver was seriously injured, but Elaine, aged forty-three, died instantly following the blast. The bomber had deliberately bought nuts and bolts to pack into his bomb which would act as shrapnel to maximize the number of casualties.
(Picture: Elaine MacIver).
The MacIver family released a statement later in which they honoured the memory of Elaine who they said: “was one of a kind and had an impact on so many lives”. Her bereft sister, Lynda, said that Elaine “had a lust for life” and would “hate to be remembered as a victim”.
ELAINE MACIVER WITH HER PARENTS
This family photograph was probably taken at Maciver Lane in Ambleside near the scenic Lake Windermere, South Lakeland District, Cumbria, England. Work has started on the Glade of Light Garden Memorial, which features a ‘halo’ made from stone that includes names of the people who died. It will be a space for people