The Dutch security minister battled to keep his job on Thursday as he faced criticism from across the political spectrum over his handling of counter-terrorism intelligence ahead of last month’s suicide bombings in Brussels.
Ard van der Steur faced tough questions during a heated parliamentary debate over the March 22 bombings that killed 32 people in the Belgian capital.
In the days following the attacks, the minister said U.S. police had alerted the Dutch a week before the bombings that the two brothers who blew themselves up were wanted, but there was no follow up.
“Why was there no pro-active response to this intelligence?” Emile Roemer, leader of the opposition Socialists, asked on Thursday. “I want to know if this minister is part of the solution or the problem.”