Donald Trump condemns media leaks after complaints from Britain
BRUSSELS: President Donald Trump said on Thursday that “deeply troubling” leaks to US media about the Manchester suicide bombing would be investigated, after irate British police stopped sharing in-formation with US agencies.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier she would tell Trump that intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure, in a rare public show of dissatisfaction with Britain’s closest security ally.
“The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,” Trump said in a statement released after he arrived in Brussels for a NATO summit, also attended by May. “I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Over the past three, days several key details of the investigation, including the name of the bomber, first came out in US media, angering British police who feared such leaks risked compromising their investigation. “I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure,” May said before departing for the NATO summit.
The decision to stop sharing police information with US agencies was an extraordinary step for Britain, which is usually at pains to emphasise its “special relationship” with the United States.
British authorities did not say that the investigation had in fact been compromised by the leaks.
Pictures published by the New York Times included remains of the bomb and of the rucksack carried by the suicide bomber, and showed blood stains amid the wreckage.
“I think it’s pretty disgusting,” said Scott Lightfoot, a Manchester resident, speaking outside a train sta-tion in the city. He criticised media for publishing such material.
“Who’s leaking it? Where’s it coming from? This is British intelligence at the end of the day, people shouldn’t be finding out about this.”
In a statement, the New York Times defended its decision to publish the images, saying they were “neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims”.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier she would tell Trump that intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure, in a rare public show of dissatisfaction with Britain’s closest security ally.
“The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,” Trump said in a statement released after he arrived in Brussels for a NATO summit, also attended by May. “I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Over the past three, days several key details of the investigation, including the name of the bomber, first came out in US media, angering British police who feared such leaks risked compromising their investigation. “I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure,” May said before departing for the NATO summit.
The decision to stop sharing police information with US agencies was an extraordinary step for Britain, which is usually at pains to emphasise its “special relationship” with the United States.
British authorities did not say that the investigation had in fact been compromised by the leaks.
Pictures published by the New York Times included remains of the bomb and of the rucksack carried by the suicide bomber, and showed blood stains amid the wreckage.
“I think it’s pretty disgusting,” said Scott Lightfoot, a Manchester resident, speaking outside a train sta-tion in the city. He criticised media for publishing such material.
“Who’s leaking it? Where’s it coming from? This is British intelligence at the end of the day, people shouldn’t be finding out about this.”
In a statement, the New York Times defended its decision to publish the images, saying they were “neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims”.