Britain ´furious´ over US leaks on Manchester attack

LONDON: "Furious" British officials scolded their US counterparts on Wednesday following repeated leaks of shared material about the investigation into the deadly Manchester terror attack.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd roasted the US Department of Homeland Security and other intelligence branches after the bomber´s identity and details of the probe leaked out to US media before British officials felt ready to disclose them.

But shortly after the interior minister complained, The New York Times newspaper again scooped British authorities and other media by publishing photographs from the scene of remnants of the bomb.

The pictures were apparently taken by police investigators and, according to British government ministry sources, leaked by US counterparts they had been shared with.

"We are furious. This is completely unacceptable," a government ministry source said.

"These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public.

"The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts."

The row -- which goes to the heart of the close intelligence-sharing relationship between the two allies -- provides an awkward backdrop to Prime Minister Theresa May´s meeting with US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.