Pledge for "open and honest" review into Manchester's response to Arena terror attack

Andy Burnham has revealed that former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake will chair the review, after suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people on May 22.Trained accountant Lord Kerslake, currently chairman of London's King's College Hospital, said it will be "independent, transparent and rigorous".The Mayor of Greater Manchester said people in the region are "still coming to terms with the enormity of what happened"."This atrocious attack on our city was an unprecedented incident," he said."The bravery and professionalism shown by the emergency services and many others that night was outstanding."The leaders of our public services had run planning exercises only weeks before the attack and, thanks to their actions, our city was ready to respond."But, as with any major incident, it is right to take an honest look at what happened so that the right lessons can be learned for the future, and this review will help us be even better prepared in the future and allow us to share our learning with other parts of the country."The review is expected to start in September after individual organisations have carried out their own reviews.Lord Kerslake said: "I want the families of those who have died, those who were injured, the emergency services, and the wider public to be confident that the review will be independent, transparent and rigorous."I am committed to working with all the relevant people and organisations to ensure this is the case."