LONDON (AP) — Manchester's mayor says the city's firefighters do not need to apologize for the delayed response to the suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena.

Mayor Andy Burnham said Friday that front line firefighters were "desperate to help" victims but were kept away by their superiors.

He spoke after a report this week found that firefighters were not allowed to go to the scene for more than two hours because of confusion about whether an attacker was still on the loose.

The report by senior civil servant Bob Kerslake said firefighters were kept away because a supervisor mistakenly thought there might be an active shooter.

A suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured scores more at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 in Manchester.