May Backs U.K. Intelligence-Sharing With U.S. Despite Trump Woes

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain still has confidence in its intelligence-sharing relationship with the U.S. despite reports that President Donald Trump shared sensitive information with Russia.

Fears over the safety of spies and informants have led to questions about allies passing intelligence to the U.S. after the Washington Post reported that Trump had revealed highly classified information from a U.S. intelligence partner about an Islamic State plot.

“We continue to share intelligence with the U.S.,” May told reporters in London on Wednesday. “We continue to work together and we have confidence in that relationship between us and the U.S., that it helps to keep us all safe.”

May, who is campaigning for Britain’s general election on June 8, has been criticized for her relationship with Trump. She was the first foreign leader to meet him in the White House following his inauguration in January. On Wednesday, she refused to comment on the details of allegations against the president.

“Decisions about what President Trump discusses with anybody in the White House is a matter for President Trump,” May said. “We have a very special relationship with the United States of America, this is the most important defense and security relationship we have around the world.”

While White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster dismissed the “premise” of the Washington Post article as “false,” the president himself said on Twitter that he “wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining... to terrorism and airline flight safety” because he wants Russia to “greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”

The president and May were photographed holding hands during her visit to the U.S. and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, has accused her of seeking to “build a coalition of risk and insecurity with Donald Trump.” He pledged “no more hand-holding” with the president if he wins on June 8.

“Britain deserves better than simply outsourcing our country’s security and prosperity to the whims of the Trump White House,” Corbyn said in a speech on May 12. “Waiting to see which way the wind blows in Washington isn’t strong leadership. And pandering to an erratic Trump administration will not deliver stability.”

--With assistance from Robert Hutton

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Alex Morales, Kevin Costelloe