Britain 'cannot trust' America with top secret information after 'moronic amateurs' in Donald Trump's administration leaked war plans on a messaging app, a former SAS hero and a British spymaster have warned.
Military hardman Chris Ryan feared the lives of British and American spies could be at risk following the extraordinary security blunder by senior US officials - and warned similar failures would likely happen again during Trump's second term in office.
'Under Trump, the Americans have lost their way, and you can't trust them,' warned the ex-22 SAS Staff Sergeant, who famously escaped capture in Iraq on an ill-fated mission with Bravo Two Zero during the first Gulf War.
'When you have got people who have been read in and have access to top secret information, but they're allowed to put all this into a group with people who have no place being there, that's a big concern. It's moronic.'
While Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British military intelligence, today warned the White House was now being run by a gaggle of 'amateurs' who had permanently damaged America's standing as the 'leaders of the free world'.
'This is embarrassing at the highest possible level. It will take the US a long, long time to recover from this,' he told MailOnline. 'A bunch of amateurs are now the leaders of the free world, at a political level.'
It came as bungling members of the President's top team continue to be ridiculed for inadvertently adding an American journalist into a group on messaging app Signal, where sensitive details of US airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen were shared.
US Vice President JD Vance and other senior members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz, were part of the chat chain - which was exposed by Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of the Atlantic magazine.
SAS legend Chris Ryan has lashed out over the messages which he feared had put lives at risk
The bombshell new messages Goldberg shared in his follow-up article include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (pictured) detailing the weapons systems and timings of the strikes before they were carried out earlier this month
Pictured is the aftermath in Sana'a, Yemen, after US strikes on March 19 against Houthi rebels
The White House initially went on the offensive against Goldberg after he revealed on Monday how he had been added to the group, with Trump branding him a 'total sleazebag' for uncovering the incredible security gaffe.
As the political maelstrom continues to rage around the extraordinary gaffe, Waltz today admitted: 'I take full responsibility. I built the group. My job is to make sure everything is coordinated,' before conceding 'it's embarrassing'.
Special forces veteran Ryan, who has since become a best-selling author, said during his 10-year stint in the famed 'He Who Dares Wins' regiment that America's operational security had been renowned. 'It was 100 per cent,' he said.
However, the ex-elite operator now feared this had been eroded by 'muppets running around' Washington sharing sensitive military secrets in mobile phone groups.
'The outcome of this could be catastrophic and will cost someone their life. And in the next four years we will see a lot more of this happening,' he added.
Security rules by Britain mean sensitive information that could compromise military operations is banned from being shared on unsecured, personal phones or computers.
A former head of the British Army has already claimed the lives of Royal Air Force pilots had been put at risk as a result of the breach.
A British Voyager plane was reportedly used to refuel American jets defending the aircraft carrier that launched the strikes on March 15, killing more than 50 people.
One bombshell message shows Hegseth detailing a timeline and weapons systems to be used in an attack on 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched and two hours before the window to take out a Houthi 'terrorist target' on March 15
Hegseth ensured they were 'clean on OPSEC' – or operational security – and said more on the timeline would follow
In another series of leaked messages, Hegseth shared his 'loathing' of European 'free-loaders'
Flames are seen rising in the sky in Yemen on March 19 after more US airstrikes
Speaking to The Telegraph, former head of the Army General Lord Richard Dannatt said: 'As US officials gave away classified information about future operations in which the RAF were involved, this undoubtedly placed British personnel at higher risk.
'I hope the White House will tighten its security rapidly and considerably. We will continue to operate with the US, but need to be confident about their operational security.'
The blunder in the States could now have serious consequences for what sort of intelligence information is shared by British spooks with their US counterparts, defence sources have said.
However, Col Ingram - who claims to have previously been involved in top secret intelligence briefings - said information would continue to flow across the Atlantic.
But he warned British intelligence chiefs would likely insist that American spies in the CIA hold off on sharing full details with American politicians, for fears it could be leaked.
'I have been in intelligence briefings with the US that start with top secret and go through handling caveats and compartments that I was aware of and some that I was not aware of. Some will have "NOFORN" at the end of it, which means "no foreigners".
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British military intelligence, said he was concerned
A British Voyager plane was reportedly used to refuel American jets defending the aircraft carrier that launched the strikes in Yemen on March 15, killing more than 50 people. his image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from a carrier in an undisclosed location before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025
Former head of Army Lord Dannatt says the accidental sharing of messages when a White House group chat on Yemen was leaked endangered RAF pilots
'A lot of what goes on with the intelligence community is you have the rules and then the personal relationships – and I have no doubt these personnel relationships and this information will be continued to be shared,' Col Ingram said.
He added: 'I cannot imagine any circumstance where we or the US could withdraw from it.'
As Trump and his allies continue to scramble to respond to the fiasco, Nato leaders have expressed further concern about America's traditional standing as an ally.
Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, said the Signal leak meant allied nations must increasingly 'look out for ourselves' as trust frays with a once-close ally.
Carney warned the intelligence blunder was a 'serious, serious issue and all lessons must be taken'. He added it would be critical to see 'how people react to those mistakes and how they tighten them up'.
The comments come as the White House suffered yet another humiliating blow, after reporters on a German newspaper were allegedly able to uncover private data and passwords belonging to top US officials online.
Der Spiegel claims to have exposed the contact details - including mobile phone numbers, email addresses and passwords - of Trump's most important security advisers by trawling the internet and looking at hacked customer data previously leaked online.
Among those reportedly affected included National Security Adviser Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Defense Hegseth.
Vice President JD Vance was also in the 'Houthi PC small group' chat on Signal
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) points to text messages by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during an annual worldwide threats assessment hearing in Washington DC on March 26
Most of these numbers and email addresses are apparently still in use, with some of them linked to profiles on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn, the paper claimed.
There are also WhatsApp profiles for the respective phone numbers and even Signal accounts in some cases - casting fresh doubt on whether enemies of the West like Russia, North Korea or Iran could also have uncovered them.
Meanwhile, it was also revealed that Trump's Ukraine and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he was added to the Signal group, CBS reports.
Witkoff arrived in the Russian capital shortly after midday local time on March 13, according to data from the flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
About 12 hours later, he was added to the 'Houthi PC small group' chat on Signal, along with other top Trump administration officials - including a CIA intelligence officer.
Witkoff did not message in the group while he was in Russia, US journalist Mr Goldberg said.
And speaking on Wednesday during a briefing at the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff did not have his personal device or his government-issued phone with him in Moscow.
People inspect the damage around a building after US airstrikes in Sana'a, Yemen, on March 24
He was given access to a 'classified protected server by the United States government, and he was very careful about his communications when he was in Russia', she added.
Col Ingram feared the potential risk of intelligence sources being compromised by the US was now at an all-time high.
Speaking of the blunder on Signal, he added: 'This is a breach at the highest level. Its unprecedented. It's down to arrogance and ignorance. We have a bunch of relatively inexperienced people rocketing to senior levels as political appointees.
'It's a concern.'
Neil Melvin, a security expert at defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute, called it 'pretty shocking.'
'It's some of the most high-ranking U.S. officials seeming to display a complete disregard for the normal security protocols,' he said.
However, Downing Street has insisted relations are not strained.
'We have a very close relationship with the US on matters of security, defense and intelligence,' said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman, Dave Pares. 'They are our closest ally when it comes to these matters, have been for many years and will be for many years to come.'
