Trump links terror attack to immigration, in Nato speech
DONALD Trump yesterday appeared to link mass migrant flows to the Manchester atrocity, as he lectured fellow leaders on their open borders.
In a speech at Nato headquarters in Brussels, the US president said the alliance must do more to tackle both terrorism and immigration.
Referring to Monday’s suicide attack, he said: ‘Terrorism must be stopped or…the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever.’
He added: ‘You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases we have no idea who they are … We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant.
‘The Nato of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration.’
While the President spoke of co-operation in tackling violent extremism, a diplomatic row was flaring up over US intelligence leaks about the Manchester bombing. Last night Mr Trump pledged to end the ‘very troubling’ leaks, after Britain suspended intelligence sharing. He ordered an inquiry by the US justice department, saying that leaks had plagued the US for a ‘very long time’ and vowed to prosecute any culprits ‘to the fullest extent of the law’.
Mr Trump’s remarks came after Greater Manchester Police took the unprecedented step of halting intelligence sharing with US authorities, following a series of damaging leaks to American media.
The Good Morning America show broadcast footage apparently taken by police inside a flat raided in Manchester.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May raised the issue with Mr Trump yesterday. Shortly afterwards, he told Nato leaders that the attack in Manchester demonstrated the ‘depths of the evil we face’. ‘Beautiful lives with so much great potential, torn from their families for ever and ever,’ he added. ‘It was a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilisation.
‘All people who cherish life must unite in finding, exposing and removing these killers and extremists, and yes, losers – they are losers. Wherever they exist in our societies we must drive them out and never, ever let them back in.’
The leaks sparked an extraordinary row. On Wednesday, the New York Times outraged British police and officials when it published photos appearing to show debris from the attack. Greater Manchester Police was said to be ‘furious’ and said it would stop sharing information with the US. Chief constable Ian Hopkins said the release of images had distressed families ‘already suffering terribly with their loss’.
British security services also stopped sharing intelligence with the US for what is understood to be the first time ever. This applied only to intelligence related to the Manchester attack. Other intelligence sharing continued as normal.
In a statement, a national counter-terrorism policing spokesman said: ‘We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world … When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.
‘This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation.’
Lewis Lukens, acting US ambassador to the UK, yesterday apologised for the ‘reprehensible’ leaks, thought to have stemmed from material shared with the FBI.
He added: ‘We agree with their concerns and we’re determined to take action.’