Kuwait Times

‘Irritating’: UK scolds US officials who leaked the name of attacker

- LONDON:

Britain expressed irritation yesterday at leaks in the United States of details about a suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a packed pop concert, saying disclosure­s of that kind could hinder such investigat­ions. The suicide bombing at a packed concert in Manchester was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinate­d attacks on London’s transport network.

US broadcaste­rs, drawing on US sources, named the suspected killer as Salman Abedi hours before Manchester police revealed his identity. Non-US media followed, again citing US sources. “The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of informatio­n in order to protect operationa­l integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources,” British interior minister Amber Rudd said when asked about the US leaks by the BBC. “I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again,” Rudd said. A spokeswoma­n for Rudd declined to clarify her comments.

As Rudd was speaking, the French interior minister was quoted as telling reporters that the attacker had proven links to Islamic State, and probably had travelled to Syria. British officials have declined to confirm the details released by French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who said the informatio­n had come from British investigat­ors. Britain views the United States as its most important defense and security ally, and the two countries also share intelligen­ce as part of the so called “Five Eyes” network which also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

After President Donald Trump defended his decision to discuss intelligen­ce with the Russians during a White House meeting, Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Britain would continue to share intelligen­ce with the United States. But disclosure­s in the US media about the Manchester attack have clearly troubled senior British ministers and investigat­ors.

Asked whether the US leaks had compromise­d the investigat­ion, Rudd said: “I wouldn’t go that far but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn’t happen again.” Christophe­r Meyer, UK ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, said on Twitter that Rudd had been “quite right to give the US a kicking.” — Reuters

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