British Intelligence Dosen’t Trust American Security Forces

25 May, 2017

British authorities stopped sharing information about the investigation into the deadly concert bombing with American security officials over the leak of confidential and sensitive details about the case, media here reported Thursday.

Police said eight men remain in custody following the attack Monday night.

The reported 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 suspected suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

Late Wednesday, images showing what appeared to be debris from the device used to kill 22 people at Manchester Arena following a performance by U.S. pop start Ariana Grande were published in the New York Times, a move that prompted a rebuke from Britain’s National Counter Terrorism Policing unit.

“We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world. 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,” it said in a statement.

“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.”

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 feel could compromise the investigation.

Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to raise the issue with President Trump at a NATO meeting in Brussels later Thursday.

Abedi, 22, who was born and raised in Manchester and has Libyan parents, is the suspect in the bombing Monday night. Authorities have 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 attack scene.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The claim could not be verified.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital on Thursday, meeting with staff and some of the attack victims. She toured the wards and spoke to medical staff. The hospital said 12 children were still being treated there.

Police on Thursday continued to raid locations across the city, convinced that the bomb’s maker could be on the loose. Security services have warned the public that more attacks could be imminent. The search for accomplices has also extended to Libya. Abedi’s younger brother and father were detained in Tripoli on Wednesday and police arrested his older brother in Manchester earlier in the week.

Manchester and the rest of the U.K. held a minute​’s silence at 11 a.m. (5 a.m. ET) on Thursday in remembrance of those who lost their lives or were affected by the attack.

USA Today

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