Breakdown between UK and US over intelligence leaks 'extremely dangerous', says Senator
The top Democrat on the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee has said that the inability to share information between the UK and the US would be “extremely dangerous” to the security of both countries and the global community.
Several senators support Donald Trump’s call for a probe into alleged leaks coming out of US government agencies, after British government officials expressed dismay over the publishing of reportedly leaked photos showing the scene of the Manchester bomb attack. The bombing killed at least 22 people and left nearly 116 people injured.
In response to the disclosures, irate UK police forces said they would stop passing the US information regarding their inquiry into the blast outside of an Ariana Grande concert. But late on Thursday, senior UK anti-terror officials said the sharing of intelligence with the US had resumed after receiving “fresh assurances”.
Some British officials said the alleged leaks were undermining the UK's counter terrorism investigation, and Prime Minister Theresa May has also made clear that the trust between the two countries was at stake.
Democratic senator Ben Cardin, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the information sharing relationship between the US and the UK must be fixed quickly.
“I think the President is right to try to find out what happened, but it’s difficult when the President himself has violated sensitive and confidential information that was shared with him from other sources,” Mr Cardin told the Independent.
Mr Trump recently got into some hot water after he reportedly revealed Israel’s highly sensitive information about an Isis terrorist plot to Russian officials.
HR McMaster, Mr Trump’s National Security Advisor, said that the information the President discussed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was “wholly appropriate”, while Mr Trump tweeted that he had the “absolute right” to share facts pertaining to terrorism.
Condemning the alleged leaks about the Manchester attack, Mr Trump said in a statement that “there is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship” between the US and the UK. Winston Churchill coined the phrase ‘special relationship’ to describe the US’s partnership with Great Britain during World War II.
“These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this,” Mr Trump continued. “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.”
Mr Cardin asserted that the US would find a way to fix diplomatic relations, but that “the President has to set the example.”
Democratic senator Tim Kaine he “was very disappointed when it turned out that we had shared that information without their permission.”
“You just don’t do that,” Mr Kaine added.
Republican senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said leaks are a violation of federal law.
“If you break the federal law, you should be prosecuted, otherwise don’t have the law,” Mr Rubio said. “Journalists only have access to the information if someone first gave it to them.”
It has not been confirmed if the leaks came from American intelligence sources. Mr Trump called the leaks “alleged” in his statement, though the information has widely been presumed to have come from US sources since American news organisations have been the first to publish specific details around the Manchester bombing investigation and explosion.
