Canadian police chief says arrested official had access to intelligence from allies

A top Canadian police officer charged with leaking secret information had access to intelligence from domestic and international allies, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Monday.

"We are aware of the potential risk to agency operations of our partners in Canada and abroad and we thank them for their continued collaboration," RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said in a statement. The RCMP did not say to whom the information was leaked.

Cameron Ortis, a director general with the RCMP's intelligence unit, was charged on Friday under a 2012 security of information law used to prosecute spies. Security experts say the case could damage Canada's standing inside the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network that also groups the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

"Mr. Ortis had access to information the Canadian intelligence community possessed. He also had access to intelligence coming from our allies both domestically and internationally," said Lucki. The "extremely unsettling" allegations "have shaken many people throughout the RCMP," she added.