The claimants’ lawyers added: “We are disappointed that time is one of the reasons now being used against them to prevent their claims progressing.
“Seven years have now passed since the atrocity in May 2017 – six years of that seven-year delay was caused by MI5.”
Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds injured when a suicide bomber detonated his device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
In March 2023, MI5 director-general Ken McCallum said he was “profoundly sorry” the security service had not been able to prevent the attack.
His comments followed a public inquiry which concluded MI5 had missed a significant chance to take action that might have stopped the bombing.
Two pieces of information about suicide bomber Salman Abedi had been assessed by the security service as not being terrorism-related.
IPTs allow anyone who believes they have been the victim of unlawful action by a public authority using covert investigative techniques to seek redress.
While rejecting the claim brought by survivors and the bereaved, Lord Justice Singh said: “We are conscious of the horrendous impact of the atrocity on the claimants and their families.
“Any reasonable person would have sympathy for them.
“The grief and trauma which they have suffered, particularly where young children were killed, is almost unimaginable.
“Nevertheless, we have reached the conclusion that, in all the circumstances, it would not be equitable to permit the claims to proceed.”
