UK resumes intelligence-sharing with US: reports

The United Kingdom has resumed sharing intelligence with the United States after temporarily suspending communications regarding the Manchester terrorist attack, according to multiple reports.

British police abruptly halted intelligence sharing communications with U.S. authorities this week after a series of leaks about the U.K.’s investigation of the suicide bombing in Manchester on Monday night.

The leaks to U.S. media outlets — which included photos and the name of the suspected bomber — infuriated U.K. officials, including Prime Minister Theresa May, who said she would “make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.”

{mosads}Trump and May met Thursday at a NATO summit, where the American president denounced the leaks as “deeply troubling” and a “grave threat to our national security,” calling for an investigation into the matter.

Mark Rowley, Britain’s top counterterrorism officer, announced the resumption of intelligence-sharing late Thursday in a statement. 

“Having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance,” he said. The Five Eyes group is made up of the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The leaks to the media came a little over a week after it was revealed that Trump had divulged highly classified intelligence to visiting Russian officials during a meeting at the White House earlier this month. 

Trump’s disclosure prompted Israel, the reported source of that intelligence, to make a “pinpoint correction” in its intelligence sharing with the U.S.

But U.K. authorities angry about the leaks warned that the “damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counterterrorism investigation.”