Regular expert review of GMP Major Incident plans
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: Greater Manchester Police
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says completed (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Greater Manchester Police should ensure that its plans for responding to a Major Incident, including a terrorist incident, are reviewed regularly by those with the appropriate skills and experience to make meaningful improvements to each plan. This must include a regular review of the Operation Plato plan, which must include obtaining the views of those with experience of firearms policing and of performing the role of Force Duty Officer.
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 that Greater Manchester Police regularly review its major incident plans. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that the force manages its major incident plan through a specialist team, with updates reviewed quarterly by subject matter experts (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). The department stated that the force also reviews its Operation Plato plan quarterly alongside a firearms governance unit, though obtaining views from Force Duty Officers was not mentioned (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Previously, the UK Government accepted the recommendation in full in November 2025 (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 completed · 27 Feb 2026
The Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit who have relevant training and experience. Any updates or changes are made in consultation with Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group. The GMP Operation Plato Marauding Terrorist Overall Plan is managed by a separate specialist team, the Firearms Policy, and Governance Unit who have relevant training and experience. GMP employs a similar approach to updates and changes to the Plato Plan as these are considered by Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Operation Plato Operational Meeting.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
The Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit who have relevant training and experience. Any updates or changes are made in consultation with Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group. The GMP Operation Plato Marauding Terrorist Overall Plan is managed by a separate specialist team, the Firearms Policy, and Governance Unit who have relevant training and experience. GMP employs a similar approach to updates and changes to the Plato Plan as these are considered by Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Operation Plato Operational Meeting.
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.