Brits furious at U.S. over leaks of intel
U.K. stops sharing its information, relents after ‘fresh assurances’
USA TODAY MANCHESTER, ENGLAND British intelligence, initially furious over U.S. leaks of sensitive details surrounding the terrorist bombing at a music concert, has ended an information boycott after U.S. leaders gave “fresh assurances” there would be no more loose lips, according to several reports.
President Trump said he is “deeply” troubled by the leaks — including crime scene photos of the carnage following Monday’s blast that killed 22 people and injured 59 — and vowed to prosecute any U.S. official found to have disclosed unauthorized information.
Prime Minister Theresa May in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, said the relationship between the two nations is “built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidentially.”
The tension between the two closely allied nations hit such a strained chord Thursday that British leaders at one point claimed they would no longer provide intelligence on the case to U.S. investigators, who often assist in international terrorist probes. But a British intelligence official says the United Kingdom is now sharing intelligence again with the U.S., CBS News reported.
The Guardian, Washington Post and CBS quoted Mark Rowley, Britain’s lead officer for counterterrorism, as saying the U.S.-British intelligence-sharing relationship is now back to normal.
“While we do not usually comment on information sharing arrangements ... having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence than the ‘special relationship’ between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he has been in contact with British Home Secretary Amber Rudd on the matter. He promised to “make every effort to put an end to ... to these rampant leaks that undermine our nation security.”
The British decision to halt sharing information with counterparts in the United States comes after a series of revelations about the case that first surfaced in U.S. media including USA TODAY, such as the name of the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi.
Late Wednesday, The New York Times published images of what appeared to be debris from the device used to kill 22 people at Manchester Arena following a performance by U.S. pop star Ariana Grande.
Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the leaks had upset victims of the attack and their families.
“Last night family-liaison officers shared with those families the fact that intelligence had been leaked and published in The New York Times,” he said. “It is absolutely understandable the distress and upset this has caused those families, who are already suffering as everybody can imagine.”
The Times defended its decision to publish the photos and a map showing where the bomb was detonated and where the victims were found, saying its work was “neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims.”
Britain’s National Counter Terrorism Policing agency said in a statement that its relationships with security partners around the world “allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad. 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 unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she raised the issue privately with Trump at a NATO meeting in Brussels later Thursday. “I will be making it clear to President Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure,” May said.
The BBC first reported that a decision was made to temporarily freeze disclosing details about the case with U.S. authorities. It said that there was “disbelief and astonishment across the British government” about the leaks to U.S. media, which they felt could compromise the investigation.
Police identified Abedi, 22, who was born and raised in Manchester and has Libyan parents, as the suicide bomber in Monday night’s attack. Authorities indicated he may have been part of a terrorist network intent on carrying out further deadly assaults in and around the Manchester area. He died at the scene.