Trump says leaks deeply troubling, orders probe

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that "deeply troubling" leaks to US media about the Manchester suicide bombing would be investigated, after irate British police stopped sharing information with US agencies.

British Prime Minister Theresa May raised British concerns with Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels, telling him intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure, in a rare public show of dissatisfaction with Britain's closest security ally.

"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling," Trump said in a statement. "I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this," Trump said in a written statement. "The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security."

Trump issued his sharp rebuke from Brussels, a city he once called a hellhole, where he was addressing leaders at both the European Union and Nato, a pair of alliances whose necessity he has questioned.

At Nato's gleaming new headquarters, Trump returned to his longstanding call for member nations to pay their fair share, lecturing leaders about contributing more as they stood listening in awkward silence. "This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States," Trumps said in brief remarks. "If Nato countries made their full and complete contributions, then Nato would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism."

The 28 member nations, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, will renew an old vow to move toward spending 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.

Moreover, though the White House had sent recent signals that the United States would stay in Nato's mutual defense pact, known as Article 5, Trump made no mention of it as he stood next a monument dedicated to the only time the article had been previously invoked: during the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.

Asked about Trump not explicitly affirming US support for Article 5, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: "It goes without saying. His presence at this event underscores our commitments and treaty obligations."

Trump's speech to Nato came hours after the EU council president said a discussion with him produced sharply different views on Russia. And the new French president pushed Trump on a sweeping climate agreement and even engaged in an apparent handshake stand-off.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to discuss the leaks with her American counterpart at the Nato gathering to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published in The New York Times, although it's not clear that the paper obtained the photos from US officials.

Source: Khaleej Times