Theresa May is going to confront Donald Trump over the ‘arrogant’ repeated leaking of intelligence on the Manchester attack to the US press when the two leaders meet on Thursday.
Whitehall has said it is ‘furious’ after a number of sensitive materials were leaked by US officials to press in America, in an uncharacteristically strongly-worded statement.
The name of the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, was leaked to American news outlets on Tuesday hours before British authorities had given it clearance for the media.
Speaking after the leak of Abedi’s name, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: ‘Quite frankly, 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 and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again.’
But on Wednesday, one day later, sensitive crime scene photos from Manchester Arena were leaked to the New York Times. They showed in detail bloodstained fragments of the bomb Abedi used, as well as of the rucksack he concealed it in.
They were described vaguely as ‘law enforcement images’ by the New York Times, but the paper did not otherwise say how they had been obtained.
CCTV shows Salman Abedi buying rucksack days before Manchester attack
NYT also published a detailed map showing the location of the victims of the bombing, as well as what is thought to be Abedi’s torso some distance away.
‘We are furious,’ a Whitehall source said. ‘This is completely unacceptable.
‘These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families, and the wider public.
‘The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts.’
After the images were published, the National Police Chiefs’ Council was forced to released an almost equally angry statement condemning the leak.
‘We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world,’ it said.
Here is everything we know so far about the Manchester tragedy
‘These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information, that 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 unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation.’
UK officials regard the disclosure as ‘completely unacceptable’, not only because of the risk it could complicate investigations, but also because of the distress it could cause the families of those killed and injured.
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Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham said a decision had been taken early on in the investigation to be cautious about putting information into the public domain.
‘Complained to acting US Ambassador about leaks out of US and was assured they would stop,’ Burnham tweeted.
‘They haven’t. Arrogant, wrong and disrespectful to GM (Greater Manchester).’
The intensifying row will provide an awkward backdrop to the PM’s meeting with Trump at the Nato summit in Brussels.
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