Media: UK urged to forge "Four Eyes" alliance without US after Trump blocks Ukraine intel

Britain should establish a "Four Eyes" intelligence-sharing arrangement in response to Donald Trump's decision to withhold classified information from Ukraine, defence sources have suggested.

The US President's move to prevent allies, including the UK, from sharing American intelligence that could assist Ukraine has led to calls for a breakaway group within the existing "Five Eyes" alliance, which comprises the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, Caliber.Az reports via Daily Mail.

By using his executive powers, Mr Trump has restricted the flow of US-generated intelligence to Kyiv, prompting figures within the defence establishment to propose an alternative framework that would allow intelligence-sharing without American oversight.

A source said: "It isn't about pulling out of Five Eyes, it is about creating a new "Four Eyes" within it – without America."

The Institute for the Study of War last week warned that the US decision would "damage Ukraine's ability to defend itself against ongoing Russian attacks".

Sir David Manning, the former British ambassador to Washington, told MPs that intelligence-sharing was becoming "more difficult to approach". He said: "Clearly, if you have some Trump supporters in these key jobs who have very strange track records and have said very strange things about Nato allies and the Nato alliance and you have people in the administration who seem to be looking for ways of appeasing Russia, then you have a problem on the intelligence front."

A Government spokesman insisted that intelligence ties with Washington remained strong, stating: "We have a deep and long-standing defence and intelligence relationship with the US and we continue to work closely with our Five Eyes partners."

By Aghakazim Guliyev