Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that his country will continue passing secret information to the Unites States, despite the recent leak of pictures from the Manchester bombing to the US media.
British authorities were said to be outraged that images of Manchester Arena in the aftermath of the attack were allegedly leaked to the New York Times.
The paper published gruesome pictures of debris and the name of the bomber, Salman Abedi, in an article on Wednesday morning, just 24 hours after the bombing that killed 22 people had occurred.
Turnbull said last week that Australia and the US enjoy “a very close intelligence sharing relationship.”
Monday’s terrorist attack did not seem to damage that relationship.
“Clearly this was a regrettable breach of security and you can see how disappointed President Trump was about it so regrettably these things do happen, but it was as regretted by President Trump as it was by Prime Minister May,” Turnbull told 3AW radio.
Asked whether he still trusts the US, the PM said: “Yes we do.”
He did note, however, that a review of intelligence services would take place in the wake of the Manchester tragedy.
The US has an intelligence sharing program with four other nations – Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – known as the Five Eyes
Britain & America resume intelligence sharing
On Thursday night, British police signaled that information sharing between the UK and US had been resumed, with “fresh assurances” from their American counterparts.
“While we do not usually comment on information sharing arrangements... 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,” said Mark Rowley, assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police’s specialist operations.
UK-US intelligence sharing was suspended on Wednesday as a reprimand to the US authorities.
President Donald Trump condemned the leaks on Thursday evening, saying “there is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the US and the UK.”
“The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,” he added 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."