New ‘WikiLeaks revelations’ could damage allies’ relationships, US tells UK

LONDON - The US ambassador to London Louis Susman has reportedly briefed the British Prime Minister David Cameron about the potentially embarrassing revelations by the whistleblower website ‘WikiLeaks,’ which when published within a few days could compromise Britain’s national security and also damage relationships between the allies.

The Daily Mail quoted a Whitehall source as saying that Susman was seen going into Downing Street and the Foreign Office yesterday to brief officials for what was described as ‘contingency planning’.

“He came in to explain what they thought we could expect,” he said.

Meanwhile Cameron’s spokesman also confirmed Susman’s visit saying: “Obviously, the Government has been briefed by U.S. officials, by the ambassador. I don’t want to speculate about precisely what is going to be leaked before it is leaked.”

Susman reportedly warned that WikiLeaks is about to publish almost 3 million secret documents, including thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables sent to Washington from the American embassy in London.

The revelations are expected to include U.S. assessments of Gordon Brown’s personality and his prospects of winning the General Election, and secret discussions on the return of the Lockerbie bomber to Libya.

A total of around 2.7million confidential messages between the U.S. government and its embassies around the world are to be released.

Besides Britain, the U.S. has also warned the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Israel in advance about the release, the paper said.

Meanwhile defence sources said that British national security could be ‘put at risk’ by the release, as they are expected to contain details of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and pull-outs and revelations about secret service practices and intelligence sources, it added.

The paper quoted the US government sources as saying that assessments of David Cameron’s election chances and his private assurances to U.S. officials may also be included.

“These revelations are harmful to the U.S. and our interests. They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world,” the US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said.

Earlier, revelations of American brutality in Iraq and fghanistan created shockwaves around the world. (ANI)