While U.K. officials attempted to control the release of information about Monday night’s deadly terrorist suicide bombing in Manchester, U.S. officials privy to the investigation passed along closely guarded details to the media.
Hours before U.K. authorities divulged such facts as the nature of the attack after an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, media outlets citing unnamed U.S. officials briefed on the incident had already revealed them. The leaks continued into Tuesday, even after the Manchester police leader asked people not to speculate or share information that doesn’t come from official sources.
A Belgian counterterrorism expert told BuzzFeed News he suspects U.K. authorities are “livid” that U.S. officials disregarded the possibility that prematurely shared details could disrupt the investigation.
“It happens sometimes when a larger partner like America assists on an investigation like this one,” the official, who asked not to be identified because he lacks permission to speak with the press, told BuzzFeed. “You know you are trading the additional resources they bring for a chance of increased leaks. In this case, I suspect the Brits are livid — I know we would be — to have a suspect ID’d before they’re ready, and obviously the recent performance of the Trump administration on leaking sensitive information can’t be far from anyone’s mind if they examine” the situation.
The first of the unofficial details emerged shortly after 1 a.m. Manchester time on Tuesday, when several media outlets, including NBC, Reuters and CNN, reported that U.S. officials said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber:
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