Donald Trump warns that ‘horror’ of Manchester will ‘continue forever’ if world leaders fail to tackle it as Theresa May says intelligence ‘must remain secure’ following leaks
DONALD TRUMP has warned the world that the "horror" of the Manchester attacks could "continue forever" if leaders fail to tackle extremist threats.
Theresa May appeared unimpressed with the President as they met today in Brussels - where she confronted him over repeated US leaks of key evidence in the Manchester terror attack investigation.
She vowed to make clear to him that shared intelligence “must remain secure” as police continue making arrests in the probe into the deadly bombing.
Mrs May said earlier today that the threat level would remain at a critical level, warning the public to "remain vigilant".
President Trump described the Manchester atrocity as a "barbaric and vicious attack" on our civilisation as he gave a speech at the new Nato headquarters.
He said it showed the "depths of the evil we face with terrorism" and again called the terrorists "losers".
"Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever.
"We have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our many countries and spreading throughout.
"We must be strong and we must be vigilant," he said.
But the so-called ‘Special Relationship’ is again under massive strain after an extraordinary transatlantic row broke out this week at the “arrogant” disclosures from across the pond.
Remarkable scenes-of-crime photographs were published by the New York Times last night showing blood-stained fragments of the device used to kill 22 people at the Manchester Arena.
The images, whose publication was defended by the paper as "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims", have angered Government officials and police bosses, and provides the backdrop for a potentially frosty meeting between the Prime Minister and the President at a NATO summit in Brussels this afternoon.
And as he ordered a full investigation into the leaks, he warned that they posed a "grave threat" to US national security - and those involved could lose their jobs.
"There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom," he said.
As she arrived in Brussels for the summit, the Prime Minister stressed that our partnership with the UK is "built on trust".
"And part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently," she added.
"I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure."
And Amber Rudd said this afternoon that she was confident the leaks would now stop.
The Home Secretary said: "The police have taken a view, we hope it is just going to be temporary. It has been worrying, the leaks... We are confident that will now end."
Former independent reviewer of terrorism, Lord Carlile, slammed Mr Trump's response as "pathetic" and declared that the leaks were "shocking and damaging" as well as "insensitive to the victims".
He stormed: "Any newspaper that publishes this should examine their consciousness. This must stop.
"These people [who leaked information] have committed criminal acts... they must be brought to account."
Lord Carlile demanded a fully apology from the Americans - and that President Trump "get a grip on his security services".
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It will only be the second time the pair have seen each other in person since Mr Trump took office, and will again expose their contrasting styles.
The more reserved, cautious and Conservative Mrs May must be secretly fuming that the brash, bombastic US leader has allowed such damaging information to have gotten out.
Despite the historically strong bonds between Britain and America, the relationship between the current PM and President make for uneasy allies.
Mrs May had attacked Mr Trump’s polices as he running for election, and she was only the 10th world leader he rang after he won the race for the White House last November.
In response she raced to be the first one to visit the White House during a whirlwind diplomatic trip in January, when she tried to pin down his support for NATO.
The pair chatted about their “shared admiration” for Margaret Thatcher and her partnership with Ronald Reagan, and there was an infamous picture of them holding hands on the way to the Oval Office.
But it was clear the pair were unlikely to end up close friends, and today’s confrontation is hardly likely to help foster closer bonds.
Ahead of her flight to the Belgian capital she gave a statement to Sky News, saying: "I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."
Speaking after a meeting of the Government's emergency committee Cobra, she said: "The police have confirmed that eight suspects remain in custody and that progress is being made in the case."
Their meeting comes as UK police are allegedly stopping sharing intelligence with American counterparts.
The police, Downing Street and the Home Office refused to comment on the report from the BBC.
But UK officers issued an extraordinary rebuke to the US, warning their behaviour “undermines” them as they race to try and smash the cell working with Salman Abedi.
And last night UK Government ministers voiced their anger in calls to American counterparts, as the disclosure is regarded as "completely unacceptable" by Britain.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has raised the issue directly with acting US ambassador Lew Lukens, and said: “These leaks are completely unacceptable, and must stop immediately.
"This behaviour is arrogant and is undermining the investigation into the horrific attack on the city of Manchester."
The leaks included suggestions Abedi's family had warned security officials he was dangerous.
And there were reports his parents were so worried about him being radicalised in Manchester they got him to join them in Libya and confiscated his passport.
It was apparently returned when he said he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd had said yesterday the 22-year-old was known to the security services "up to a point".
In the same interview with the BBC she revealed the leaking of information, including Abedi’s name, by American authorities was “irritating”.
Ms Rudd said she had told her US counterparts not to do it again – but within hours the remarkable images were printed across the pond.
Responding to the leak, the National Police Chiefs' Council said it "undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families".
But in the US, politicians were openly briefing the media on what they had been told about Abedi and his "cell of Isis-inspired terrorists".
US congressman Mike McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the bomb was of a "level of sophistication" that might indicate its maker had foreign training.
He described it as "a classic explosive device used by terrorists", using the same substance as the one used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels, adding the evidence so far suggests "we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation".
A Whitehall source said: "We are furious. This is completely unacceptable. These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public.
"The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts."
And the former Home Secretary David Blunkett said of the American leaks: "Whether they've lost their marbles, I don't know."
Kurt Volker, a former US permanent representative to Nato and a former CIA analyst, said the "unfortunate" leak could be damaging to long-term security.
He said the leaked images revealed little crucial information but the move was likely to harm information sharing between nations, which plays a vital role in fighting terrorism.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If you are an allied intelligence service you are going to think twice about sharing something if you believe this could now be published in the New York Times, it could be released, it could be out there."