BRITAIN: Terrorism Investigators Suspend Manchester Intel Sharing With US Over Repeated Media Leaks

The BBC reports:

Police investigating the Manchester Arena bomb attack have stopped sharing information with the US after leaks to the media. UK officials were outraged when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the New York Times.

It came after the name of bomber Salman Abedi was leaked to US media just hours after the attack, which left 22 dead. Theresa May said she would tell Donald Trump at a NATO meeting that shared intelligence “must remain secure”.

Greater Manchester Police hope to resume normal intelligence relationships – a two-way flow of information – soon but is currently “furious”, the BBC understands. Its chief constable Ian Hopkins said the recent leak had caused “much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.”.

The force – which is leading the investigation on the ground – gives its information to National Counter-Terrorism, which then shares it across government and – because of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement – with the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

US-UK intel not related to the Manchester attack is still being shared. For now.