Trump says Theresa May was 'very angry' over leaks

Trump says Theresa May was 'very angry' over leaks



Donald Trump says that British Prime Minister Theresa May is furious about how details of the Manchester terror investigation were leaked by American officials.

The president, who pledged to 'get to the bottom' of leaks about the Manchester bombing probe, tweeted on Sunday that: 'British Prime Minister May was very angry that the info the U.K. gave to U.S. about Manchester was leaked. Gave me full details!'

May was so concerned about the amount of details that were being published in American media, including the name of the bomber, the British government temporarily stopped sharing information with US agencies.



The British PM raised concerns with Trump at a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, telling him intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure. It was a rare public show of dissatisfaction with Britain's closest security ally.

'She expressed the view that the intelligence-sharing relationship we have with the U.S. is hugely important and valuable, but that the information that we share should be kept secure,' a British government source said.

Trump, speaking in Brussels, called the leaks 'deeply troubling' and a 'grave threat' to national security, and said he would ask the Justice Department 'to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'

'The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,' Trump said.

The White House statement notably didn't confine itself to the disclosure of terror-related information from a key ally, but also mentioned leaks generally – something that have been the bane of Trump's young presidency.



'These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security,' Trump continued.

Hours after Trump's strong message, British police reopened information sharing ties with the US.

Mark Rowley, the country's most senior counter-terrorism officer, confirmed they had 'received fresh assurances' from Washington and were now 'working closely' with them.

He added: 'We greatly value the crucial relationship with our trusted partners around the world so we can collaborate and share sensitive information to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.



Two US officials from different agencies said the photos of remnants of the Manchester bomb, which killed 22 people, and other evidence that U.S. officials allegedly leaked were of what one of them called 'limited intelligence and law enforcement value.'

The United States and Britain have the closest intelligence-sharing relationship of any two countries on earth.

British liaison officers work at the CIA, the electronic eavesdropping National Security Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and elsewhere.

U.S. military and civilian counterparts are stationed in Britain including a contingent at the Cheltenham headquarters of the NSA's British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ.

Intelligence officers from both countries also work closely in third countries, including war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition, the United States and Britain are members of the 'Five Eyes' pact, which also includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The five countries share highly classified intelligence regarding electronic eavesdropping, code-breaking, and cybersecurity.

Both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress said the relationship with Britain was too valuable to undermine with leaks.

'If they don´t feel comfortable sharing information, that can be a significant obstacle in terms of the worldwide terror fight,' said Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senator John McCain, Republican chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, said: 'The British are citizens of a sovereign nation. They should do whatever they want to do. And if they are offended by leaks, then I respect whatever measures they take.'

The British concerns echo Trump's own frequent complaints about officials in his administration leaking information to the media, often about allegations of connections between his election campaign and Russia.