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Police 'stop sharing information with US' after string of major intelligence leaks over bomb attack

Manchester Police have stopped sharing information with the US after two big leaks: PA
Manchester Police have stopped sharing information with the US after two big leaks: PA

Police hunting the suspected Manchester bombmaker today dramatically stopped sharing secret information with US law enforcement agencies after damaging leaks.

In a humiliating rebuff for the CIA and FBI, police chiefs in Britain cut the flow of information across the Atlantic after detailed photographs of the scene of carnage at the Manchester Arena were published in the New York Times.

US intelligence was also accused of risking British lives by prematurely publishing the name of the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, 22, which raised fears it could have prompted his associates to go into hiding or bring forward plans for other atrocities.

Theresa May, MI5 and MI6 chiefs and senior Whitehall officials were said to be “furious” at the leaks.

The Prime Minister was set to raise the matter with Donald Trump at a Nato meeting in Brussels today.

However, it is not the first time that the US authorities have played “fast and loose” with confidential British information.

They are also accused of:

  • Risking the life of a British double agent, who had infiltrated al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, by revealing details in 2012 about a second and more sophisticated “underpants bomb” plot.

  • Leaking information about “printer cartridges” bomb plots to bring down cargo jets which were foiled after a “tip-off” from Saudi Arabian security forces, with one of the devices found in a plane at East Midlands Airport in 2010.

  • Giving out details of how bombs were made that were used in the July 7 2005 London terror attacks in which 52 people were killed.

Lord Blair, who was Metropolitan Police Commissioner at the time, described the Manchester leaks, which included pictures of shrapnel from the bomb, as a “very grievous breach”, adding: “It remains me exactly of what happened after 7/7”.

Asked about Mrs May’s reaction, a Whitehall source said: “Furious. That was the reaction across Whitehall.”

Security sources said: “Counter-terrorism policing has temporarily ceased sharing information with US law enforcement partners relating to the Manchester investigation only.

“This is until such time we have assurances that no further unauthorised disclosures will occur.”

Lord Blunkett, who as Home Secretary put armed forces on the streets in 2003 to foil a terror plot to down a plane, warned that the leaking would “undermine trust” between the intelligence agencies.

Security experts stressed the leaking of Abedi’s name could have cost lives and the pictures of his bomb remains could help other terrorists to build devices.

Former army officer Tom Tugendhat, seeking re-election as Tory MP for Tonbridge and Malling, said: “Leaking the name could undermine the investigation by warning conspirators to hide or bring forward any plans they may have had.

“It is deeply unhelpful and could endanger others.”

The row escalated as a minute silence was held at 11am across Britain for the 22 victims of the Manchester terror attack, as more were named including Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from Barra in the Outer Hebrides.

She was at the concert with friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, who was seriously injured and remains in hospital.

Two more men were arrested by police in Greater Manchester overnight, bringing the number in UK custody to eight.

A woman detained in the Blackley area of Manchester last night was later released without charge.

As the search for the suspected bombmaker continued at pace today, MI5 and police faced claims that they were repeatedly warned about Abedi, including allegedly by a member of his family.

Mrs May also faced calls to strengthen restrictions on terror suspects which were watered down when she was Home Secretary, under pressure from the Liberal Democrats and some Tory MPs.

Just seven people in the UK are currently subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, known as TPIMs, despite more than 2000 people on the security services’ radar.

However, they are seen as less stringent than control orders which they replaced on 2012.

Lord Blair said: “The TPIM regime is a much weaker system than the control orders they replaced. I’m sure we are going to have to look at them again.”

Meanwhile, counter terror police were investigating reports that Abedi was in the German city of Dusseldorf, a hotbed of radical Islamism, four days before the attack.