Downing Street has insisted it is confident UK intelligence shared with the US is being handled appropriately, in the wake of a high-profile security breach involving the Trump administration.
Luke Pollard, the armed forces minister, told parliament that no UK personnel involved in the US operation against the Houthis on 15 March were put at risk by a reporter being accidentally included in a group chat where senior US officials discussed the airstrikes.
He added that the government had “high confidence” that British operational security remained “intact”, despite the breach by a crucial intelligence partner.
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‘High confidence’ operational security ‘intact’
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Speaking to the House of Commons’ defence select committee, the armed forces minister said: “All UK service personnel are covered by our normal approach to operational security, and the committee will understand that I won’t go into the details of how we keep our involvement in any support for military operations in the Red Sea or anywhere else [secure].
“But we’ve got high confidence that the measures that we have got with our allies, including the United States, remain intact.”
But Mr Pollard went on to say that there would be “a clear consequence” should any UK officials not follow the correct procedures around classified material.
He told the committee: “The Ministry of Defence has very clear policies in relation to what information can be shared and the format in which it can be shared. We don’t comment on how allies share their information.
“I’m confident that we have robust measures to safeguard our information and our data, but we also have a very clear set of systems where individuals don’t follow procedures, with sufficient consequences to reflect the actions that have been taken.”
The minister added that there would be “a clear consequence and disciplinary process for anyone that was not following those procedures”.
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No10 still confident in US-UK intelligence relationship
A Downing Street spokesman, meanwhile, told journalists: “The US is our closest ally when it comes to matters of defence, we have a long-standing relationship on intelligence and defence cooperation.
“We will continue to build on the very strong relationship we already have with the US on defence and security matters.”
Asked whether the government was happy UK personnel had been involved in an operation where details had been shared with a journalist, the spokesman said he would not comment on intelligence matters.
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‘Trump’s White House can’t be trusted’
The leader of the Liberal Democrats disagrees completely with the government, and is calling for a comprehensive review of the UK’s intelligence sharing arrangements with the US.
Sir Ed Davey said: “Trump’s White House can’t be trusted to take even the most basic steps to keep its own intelligence safe.
“Their fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach to security means it could only be a matter of time until our own intelligence shared with them is also leaked. This could put British lives at risk.”
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Sir Ed is not alone in his concerns, with four former US ambassadors having expressed their concerns about intelligence sharing with the US under the Trump administration.
Sir David Manning, ambassador between 2003 and 2007, told a parliamentary committee that some of Mr Trump’s appointees had “strange track records” that would create a “problem on the intelligence front”.
Dame Karen Pierce, who served through some of the first Trump presidency and left Washington last month, said intelligence sharing would continue “even if at the top level there might be things we might wish to be circumspect about”.
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On 15 March, US airstrikes killed at least 53 people in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi threats to begin targeting “Israeli” ships after Israel blocked aid entering the Gaza Strip. The daily bombardment has continued for the 10 days since then.
UK forces assisted the US navy with refuelling of military jets during the airstrikes earlier this month.
The UK and US intelligence networks are deeply integrated, and both countries are part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which also includes Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
