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British police chiefs have reacted angrily to leaks in US media relating to this week's suicide bombing in Manchester by warning breaches of trust between international partners undermine their investigation.
The New York Times has released detailed images of the blast scene at Manchester Arena, which it said were gathered by British authorities.
The suicide bomb attack, suspected to have been carried out by Salman Abedi shortly after an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night, left 22 people dead and scores more wounded.
The paper said the pictures — published just hours after British Home Secretary Amber Rudd condemned leaks to the media by US officials — showed the bomb was a highly-powerful device full of shrapnel including nuts and screws.
A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs council said the publication of the images could undermine their investigation.
"We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world," the spokesman said.
"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."
Photo:
Remnants of backpack that may have been carried by the bomber. (Supplied: The New York Times)
'It shouldn't happen again'
Ms Rudd earlier said it was "irritating" information about the investigation had been leaked by US security sources before the British police were ready to go public with it.
"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," she said.
Britain has raised its official terror threat to "critical" — meaning it is likely an attack is imminent — and is trying to uncover a suspected extremist network before it strikes again.
Ms Rudd said she had complained to US officials to make sure the flow of information was staunched.
Asked whether the leaks had compromised the investigation, she said: "I wouldn't go that far but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn't happen again."
British officials had not, for example, released the name of the bomber until it surfaced in the US media based on leaks from US officials briefed by their British counterparts, and other details also surfaced first because of leaks in Washington.
UK has 'every right to be furious'
It comes at a time when European security officials have expressed concern about sharing intelligence with the US after President Donald Trump discussed highly classified intelligence about the Islamic State group with senior Russian officials visiting the White House.
Representative Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, told reporters he understood the concern about US leaks possibly harming the UK police operation.
"If we gave up information that has interfered in any way with their investigation because it tipped off people in Britain — perhaps associates of this person that we identified as the bomber — then that's a real problem and they have every right to be furious," he said.
He said, however, that even if US intelligence sources shared vital information with the media, it was unlikely to affect the strong intelligence sharing relationship between the US and Britain.
Reuters/AP
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, terrorism, unrest-conflict-and-war, united-kingdom, england, united-states
First posted