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Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, violated security protocols and endangered troops by using a personal device to share sensitive operational details on the unclassified messaging app Signal, according to reports in the US media of a forthcoming finding.

Meanwhile, Hegseth is apparently trying to distance himself from allegations that he ordered a second military strike on a boat carrying drug smugglers in the Caribbean, unlawfully killing two survivors of an earlier attack.

For the past three months, US forces have been targeting small boats thought to be ferrying narcotics to countries in Latin America — from which they could reach the United States. More than 80 drug smugglers are said to have been killed when their vessels were hit by US missiles.

Where does this leave Hegseth and the naval commander responsible for the operation, Admiral Frank Bradley? Are they responsible for breaches of international humanitarian law? Could they be charged with murder? And what effect has the incident had on relations between the US and the UK?

These are among the questions I put yesterday to John Bellinger, former legal adviser to the US State Department during the George W Bush administration and now a senior fellow in international law at the US Council on Foreign Relations. We met to record the latest episode of A Lawyer Talks during his visit to London.

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