Wikileaks soldier Bradley Manning says sorry to US

Whistleblower Bradley Manning has apologised for “hurting the United States” and pleaded for clemency ahead of his sentence for leaking secret documents to Wikileaks.

On the edge of tears at times, and with his hands shaking, the former soldier read a statement at his court martial at Fort Meade, Maryland. He described himself as a junior soldier and asked, “How on Earth could I … think I could have changed the world?

“I’m sorry that my actions hurt people. I’m sorry that it hurt the United States. I’m apologising for the unexpected results of my actions. The last three years have been a learning experience for me.”

Manning, 25, could face 90 years in jail after military judge Colonel Denise Lind convicted him of 20 charges including espionage and theft.

He gave about 700,000 military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks while working as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.