UK suspends sharing of intelligence with US on suspected Caribbean drug-trafficking vessels

Britain has suspended the sharing of intelligence on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean with Washington amid concerns it may be used to engage in lethal military strikes by US forces.

- Dan Sabbagh Julian Borger

Such a decision would suggest the UK does not believe the Trump administration's controversial practice of sinking boats allegedly used by drug traffickers is legal.

The UK, which retains oversight on several island territories in the Caribbean, has long shared intelligence with the US about the movements of suspect vessels so they can be seized by the US Coast Guard.

But CNN reported intelligence sharing relating to suspected drug shipments had been paused shortly after the US began its campaign of lethal strikes in September.

Responding to the CNN report, a UK government spokesperson said: "It is our longstanding policy to not comment on intelligence matters."

An estimated 76 people have been killed in 19 attacks on small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that were allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

The Trump administration claims drug smugglers can be killed legally because they are combatants in an armed conflict with the US.

However, intelligence or other military assistance would not be given to an ally, including the US, if the UK had its own legal concerns about how information supplied might ultimately be used in operations.

Similar questions were raised before the raid by US B-2 bombers on Iran's underground nuclear enrichment site at Fordow in June, when it was believed the mission was going to be launched from the UK's base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. In the end, the bombers flew from a US base in Missouri.