The prime minister's spokesman indicated that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was named in a file of people based in Britain who had made contact with radical Muslim preachers. The file was said to have been sent to the US authorities in 2008.White House sources disputed the Downing Street account, stating that no such intelligence information was passed by Britain before the attempted Christmas Day attacks. The White House declined to respond officially.
1/5 Update: A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is saying there is "no suggestion" the UK passed intelligence on to the U.S. regarding the Detroit bomber it failed to act on. Sky News reports:
The Home Secretary today told the Commons the UK had passed "routine" intelligence to the US about Mutallab when he was denied a student visa and added to a British watchlist in April 2009.
But Alan Johnson said they did not flag him up as a terror threat as they had no reason to suspect him.