I have been through Manchester on at least five occasions this year. On one, I met someone senior in Security monitoring the situation 'on the ground' and I had a brief chat. Effectively he blamed the crisis on the passengers with too many failed bags and that Manchester is the best airport for cabin bag security in the world.
Well, as a colleague says to me "The best is the enemy of the good". Don't be the best, just do your job. The average passenger going through Manchester, especially at holiday time is a tourist. You can profile. A family with Mum, Dad and kids flying anywhere are less likely to be a risk than a sole passenger, especially someone in their late teens to 20s. They do seem to forget that the customer is very happy to spend money in Departures if only they could get there in plenty of time before the flight leaves. Surely they can afford to pay more to the security staff, which they will get back in increased sales in Departures,
Strange way to run a business...