Guidance on Silver command deployment to scene
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: College of Policing, Counter Terrorism Policing
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says in progress (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters and the College of Policing should issue guidance on the circumstances in which a police officer or officers with responsibility for the tactical/silver command of the unarmed officers at the scene or scenes of a Major Incident should deploy to that scene or scenes.
Manchester Arena Inquiry, Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · 3 Nov 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Inquiry recommended guidance on when silver commanders should deploy to major incident scenes. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that the emergency services had signed off Joint Operating Principles (JOPs) Version 3 for responding to marauding terrorist attacks (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). It noted that the document covers areas including mobilisation, communication, and scene assessment, though guidance on silver command deployment to the scene was not mentioned (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the UK Government recorded in November 2025 that the recommendation had been accepted in full (Cabinet Office response, Nov 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Accepted · 14 Nov 2025
Accepted in full
Response document: Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations (GOV.UK page linking to the Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard)
Delivery
●Cabinet Office says in progress · 27 Feb 2026
Following the publication of the report the Joint Operating Principles known as ''JOPs'' Version 3 has been produced and signed off by the tri-services. This document contains additional principles, which can be applied when responding to a Marauding Terrorist Attack. These Joint Operating Principles (JOPs) have been developed from the operational experience of the three services, as well as learning taken from attacks, exercises and wider national learning. The JOP's covers the following areas:- IDENTIFICATION, MOBILISATION, COMMUNICATION, SCENE ASSESSMENT, SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND JOINT UNDERSTANDING OF RISK, CASUALTY MANAGEMENT, FIRE AND HAZARDS MANAGEMENT, DE-BRIEFING AND LESSONS IDENTIFIED This was a large piece of work which captured a number of recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry. The JOPS is reviewed on an annual basis to determine its value, additional learning and to ensure it is still relevant.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
Following the publication of the report the Joint Operating Principles known as ''JOPs'' Version 3 has been produced and signed off by the tri-services. This document contains additional principles, which can be applied when responding to a Marauding Terrorist Attack. These Joint Operating Principles (JOPs) have been developed from the operational experience of the three services, as well as learning taken from attacks, exercises and wider national learning. The JOP's covers the following areas:- IDENTIFICATION, MOBILISATION, COMMUNICATION, SCENE ASSESSMENT, SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND JOINT UNDERSTANDING OF RISK, CASUALTY MANAGEMENT, FIRE AND HAZARDS MANAGEMENT, DE-BRIEFING AND LESSONS IDENTIFIED This was a large piece of work which captured a number of recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry. The JOPS is reviewed on an annual basis to determine its value, additional learning and to ensure it is still relevant.
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
Published evidence
●JESIP · 1 Apr 2024
JESIP Joint Doctrine updated to v3.1 (April 2024) following inquiry findings on interoperability failures. Operation Plato reformed to cover all terrorist attack types, not just firearms. Emphasis extended beyond command-level to frontline responders.
JESIP Joint Doctrine Version 3.1, April 2024View source →
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.