27 May, 2017
British news website The Independent also reported bomb-making materials which could be primed for imminent attacks had been found in the raids following the Manchester bombing.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said Thursday that it was "absolutely understandable" that the leaks to US media had caused the victims' families distress, but he would not comment on reports by British outlets suggesting intelligence sharing between the two allies would be reduced to some extent as a result.
May also said she will make clear to Trump during Thursday's North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in Brussels that she wants the countries' shared intelligence to be protected.
"These leaks can not be tolerated and we will make every effort to put an end to it", he said in a statement Thursday.
Ahmed bin Salem, a spokesman for the Special Deterrent Force in Libya, said Abedi placed his final call to both his mother and a brother.
"We greatly value the crucial relationship with our trusted partners around the world so we can collaborate and share sensitive information to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and overseas", Britain's national counterterrorism head Mark Rowley said in a statement. Yet Trump's administration is filled with people who privately reveal information to the press. "Part of that is knowing intelligence can be shared confidently and I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence shared with law enforcement agencies must be secure". The Times didn't disclose how it obtained the photos.
A relative told AFP that Abedi had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before the bombing.
British officials reacted with fury and cut off information sharing with U.S. law enforcement agencies, putting the decades-old transatlantic intelligence relationship under strain.
Updating the media on the investigation yesterday, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the latest leak had "caused much distress" to families of the victims. Withholding the name longer could have allowed authorities to track down people who may have since taken evasive action, they said. "That should be kept as sacrosanct".
Defending its decision to publish the pictures, the New York Times said: "The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes".
"This is the kind of information and the kind of photographs we and others have published countless times after terrorism attacks", said Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times. It was not personal or insensitive.
The BBC on Thursday reported that Britain had stopped sharing information with USA law enforcement "because of a series of leaks thought to have come from the American intelligence community".
"They wouldn't let you share bread with them", she said Abedi told her. "We probably might have a lot of information that can help our allies". We check our databases.
Some bands - including Blondie, Kiss and Take That - have canceled shows after the blast but representatives for several music acts - including Aerosmith, Celine Dion, Shawn Mendes, Guns N' Roses and Phil Collins - said they will honor their European dates this summer.
The Metropolitan Police, which is responsible for the national terror hotline, said it would be "inappropriate" to comment. Don't forget that intelligence services (and investigations, for that matter) are comprised of human beings too, who are just as outraged and just as needful for people to know that justice will be done for the victims and their families.
Schiff said, however, that it's in the best interests of the United States not to do anything to jeopardize trust with Britain. "These leaks can not be tolerated, and we will make every effort to put an end to it", he said.
