That U.S.-U.K. special relationship is to face its first major challenge this week, as British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to confront President Donald Trump over the leaking of sensitive information from U.S. sources on the devastating attack on Manchester, which has killed 22 and injured over 100 people. The first leak came on Tuesday after an unnamed U.S. source told American broadcaster CBS the name of the Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi, despite earlier appeals by police in the U.K. to local media to not publish details on the person in order to aid the investigation.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today Programme on Wednesday morning, Home Secretary Amber Rudd described the move as “irritating” and said they had now been “very clear” with U.S. officials that no more leaks of sensitive information should take place. When asked whether the revelation of his name had compromised the investigation, she said that had not been the case.
Angry agencies
However, the leak of detailed photographs from the bomb scene from British forensic investigations to the New York Times has shifted the situation dramatically, with the anger palpable within Britain’s security and intelligence services. The BBC reported that police in Greater Manchester have taken the decision to stop sharing intelligence with U.S. authorities on a temporary basis and only relating to this investigation. Ms. May has said she would “make clear” to the U.S. President the need to keep intelligence secure, at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, while Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has raised the issue with the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K.
While Britain has arrangements to share intelligence with a number of countries across the world, the U.S. has undoubtedly been its closest partner on this. Information sharing has also caused tensions in the past. These include the leak of details on the July 2005 bombings in central London, which killed 52 people, and the decision by U.S. authorities to act on intelligence from Britain on a plot to blow up airliners in 2006, sooner than the British had hoped for. However, the latest leak is in a different league. “The leaking of pictures is unusual because that is not only operationally sensitive but it is also emotionally very raw,” said Dr. Jamie Gaskarth, senior lecturer in politics at Birmingham University.
Breach of trust
In a statement, the National Police Chief’s Council warned of the impact that such breaches of trust could have on the ability to defeat terror and protect the public. The New York Times published images from the scene of the attack, including fragments of a blue Karrimor backpack, which the bomber was believed to have carried, metal nuts and screws and some of the damage inflicted on the area.
