British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (R) meeting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in London | EPA/Patrick Tsui Rex Tillerson: US takes ‘full responsibility’ for Manchester leaks ‘We obviously regret that that happened,’ the US Secretary of State said while visiting London.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Friday said his country takes “full responsibility” for leaks of the British investigation into the Manchester attack Monday night.

"We take full responsibility for that and we obviously regret that that happened," Tillerson said at a press conference with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in London.

"The President has been very strong in his condemnation and has called for an immediate investigation and prosecution of those who are found to have been responsible for leaking any of this information to the public,” he said.

British police briefly suspended intelligence sharing with the U.S. Thursday after the name of the attacker, Salman Abedi, and pictures of the crime scene were leaked to the press. The U.K. government blamed the U.S. for the incident. The British resumed intelligence sharing late Thursday after Mark Rowley, the U.K.’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, said they had “received fresh assurances” from the U.S., the Guardian reported.

In a statement issued Thursday Trump condemned the leaks as “deeply troubling” and said he had asked the Department of Justice to investigate the case.

According to a U.K. official, British Prime Minister Theresa May discussed the issue with Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels Thursday.

U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the leaks were “irritating” but stressed that U.S. officials pledged it would not happen again.



