It was less than 48 hours after the massacre of innocents at the Manchester Arena, that photos of the crime scene including bloodstained shrapnel were published by the New York Times after presumably being leaked by American intelligence to the newspaper. This was just one in a long line of leaks mostly in the American press (not all were, as the French interior minister blabbed live on air that the suicide bomber was thought to have spent time in Syria) which seemingly come from American government sources leaking information given to them in trust by the British intelligence sources.
The reasons behind this grossly loose lipped behaviour are unknown. They could be by anti-Trump forces, but it more likely that they are by those of his supporters who wish to undermine the traditional transatlantic alliances such as NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence sharing system. Whatever the reason, it is heartless beyond belief, to share pictures of the nuts and screws used to kill and maim concert goers, a point rammed home by the fact that in the photos so unhelpfully supplied by the New York Times are surrounded by the blood of those victims. It would significantly irresponsible to share them after an investigation has finished but to do so when the suspects are still on the run defies all common sense and decency. It does so to the point that this simply can't be incompetence but one wonders if there is malice and cynicism involved.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that this continual leaking of information could endanger British security and British lives. For whatever reason it is being carried out, it has to be stopped. There is no public interest in seeing pictures of the remains of the bomb when the bomb-maker himself is possibly still on the run in our country. It is unacceptable (as both the home secretary and defence secretary have said when asked by the media) for our allies to continually undermine our national security especially when they have been asked repeatedly to stop.
Quite simply, Congress should investigate who is behind these leaks with the same vigour they have delved into scandals involving Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Games on the Potomac surrounding their divisive President are very well in the typical cut and thrust of DC Politics, but don't endanger our citizens' safety over your own internal bickering. This is a clear case of British national security being violated and if America still values the special relationship (if, of course, it ever did in the first place) then examples need to be made of whoever has been leaking to various American newspapers and broadcasters.
America can express all the solidarity that they wish, but if you can't be trusted to keep secrets of this magnitude and deal with those who leak in this indiscriminate manner, then together with leaks of Israeli information by President Trump in the oval office itself and of American nuclear submarine movements to the leader of the Philippines, we have to conclude that America is no long a safe partner for information sharing to the same extent we have traditionally done so.