On Monday 7th March, BBC Panorama aired a documentary on Saffie Roussos’ story. Saffie was the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena Bombing attack that claimed 22 lives on 22nd May 2017. The heartache that Saffie's family have had to endure over the past 5 years is unfathomable, and only made worse by the idea that Saffie's death could have been prevented.

The Panorama documentary was a true eye-opener for many that may have assumed that everything was done to save as many lives as possible. The emergency services are here to protect us and have a duty to do everything they can in their power to do that. The documentary made it clear, however, that the Manchester Arena Inquiry is finding that there were major failings in the emergency services response to the attack. Major delays in response and a ‘catastrophic breakdown in communications’ have meant that, unfortunately, more could, and should, have been done.

Watch the BBC Panorama documentary

Nicola Brook, Associate Director & Inquests & Inquiries Solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter, and the Solicitor representing the Roussos family in the Manchester Arena Inquiry, spoke in the documentary of how difficult it was to break the news to Saffie’s parents that more could have been done to save Saffie. “It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the hardest conversation I’ve ever had to have” she said.

Speaking to Nicola, Andrew, Saffie’s father, said:

As Saffie's family it is very important for us to keep her memory alive. Saffie had a larger-than-life character that will be forever with us. We hope this documentary will give the audience a glimpse of the beautiful little girl Saffie was, who will always be the centre of our family.

We feel as Saffie's parents we are now her voice through the Inquiry.  With our legal team in court and our journey with the Panorama documentary we are pushing for accountability and justice for what Saffie went through and her brave fight to stay alive.

Broudie Jackson Canter have been working hard to secure answers and justice for the bereaved families throughout the Manchester Arena Inquiry, with Nicola leading the team. Speaking of the importance of the Inquiry, Nicola explains:

What happened to Saffie Roussos and the 21 other people who sadly lost their lives as a result of the Manchester Arena Bombings is nothing short of a tragedy. There are many questions that remain unanswered, and it is our number one priority to find the answers to those questions through the Manchester Arena Inquiry to make sure it never happens again. We believe there were structural failures as well as failures in the hours that both led up to and followed the tragic event that allowed this attack to happen. The bereaved families deserve to have their questions answered. They deserve justice.

The Manchester Arena Inquiry is ongoing, with further findings expected to be released later this year.