British intelligence spied on Kofi Annan

[Roger]

The government have dropped charges against Katharina Gun, a British spy who leaked a document about the UK and US spying on UN members. Now Clare Short, is claiming that the UK bugged conversations of Kofi Annan.

LONDON (Reuters) - Remember when you only saw British spies in 007 movies?

Suddenly, you can find James Bonds testifying in courtrooms, leaking documents to the papers, writing their own accounts on the front pages -- and now a former British Cabinet member says they snooped on U.N. chief Kofi Annan.

British spies, it seems, are everywhere, driven out of the shadows by the dispute over the war in Iraq.

And to the chagrin of spy services in both Britain and its war ally the United States, more skeletons are likely to tumble out of the closets as long as society remains bitterly divided over whether the war was right.

Former British Cabinet member Clare Short's revelation Thursday that she had seen transcripts of apparently bugged conversations of the U.N. secretary-general was the latest in a series of unprecedented disclosures.

How far does this whole thing go? It seems clear that blackmail may have also been used on some members.

[Michael O]

Pretty fucked up broke the UN headquaters agreement and a few laws.
But I am sure they weren´t the only one.

[kmanrox]

oddly enough i had a conversation with someone about this yesterday... i asked if he reconed allies like the usa and the brits have a slew of spies against each other and we both agreed 'of course'.... hell, im sure canada has spies in our government, and vice versa... there are spies everywhere, to many different degrees all over the place... without them, our countries would all be left to fate...

[Roger]

Originally posted by kmanrox
oddly enough i had a conversation with someone about this yesterday... i asked if he reconed allies like the usa and the brits have a slew of spies against each other and we both agreed 'of course'.... hell, im sure canada has spies in our government, and vice versa... there are spies everywhere, to many different degrees all over the place... without them, our countries would all be left to fate...

So you're okay with blackmailing UN members?

[Webby]

Roger:

The government have dropped charges against Katharina Gun, a British spy who leaked a document about the UK and US spying on UN members. Now Clare Short, is claiming that the UK bugged conversations of Kofi Annan.

Katherine Gun was not really a "spy" - however she was employed at CGHQ on the communications side where she witnessed memos between the CIA and UK Intell where the CIA were prompting the UK Intell to get involved in phone tapping and bugging of UN Security Council Members.

Ms Gunn also aware of much more and considered her disclosure of "secrets" to be in the public interest. She also considered this was both illegal and immoral. It is little surprise the Crown Prosecution Service chose not to proceed - no jury would convict her and she was likely to expose still more embarassing news :-)

It is more than clear from the data revealed so far, that the CIA were bugging and tapping the phones of UN members (and other shit) in an attempt to gain advantage on the decision to go to war in Iraq.

This action also illustrates the behaviour of a rogue regime in their attempts to justify and coerce a war agreement out of the UN Security Council. If anything was a "Watergate" - this is it. But have we had a murmer from the US Admin? Nope. This is just another small part of the picture of lying to the masses and proceeding with their own agenda. It is also another reason, that the current US Admin are not trusted either on known/acknowledged agreements/treaties or in any aspect of their dealings with anyone, whether within the US or abroad.

They are barely able to covey any form of information anywhere without lying.

Flotsum has this habit of rising and I think we will be seeing plenty flotsum in the near future :-) All this shit is pathetic and there will be a price at some stage.

[Rich]

You'd think journalists would be having a field day with this, instead they talk about gay marriage 25 hours a day. I mean how many people's opinions do you need to hear?

It's sad how the press is silenced by the Bush admin. In 30 years people are going to look back and compare that to Nazi Germany for sure. Where the fuck are Woodward and Bernstein when you need them?

[Webby]

Rich:

You'd think journalists would be having a field day with this, instead they talk about gay marriage 25 hours a day. I mean how many people's opinions do you need to hear?

When you think Clinton got blasted over a blowjob and Nixon disappeared over Watergate - this is "bigger" than both of em. It involved "manipulation" of the "international community" in an attempt to send people to war on false "evidence" (a lot of which was already known by journalists - ie the locations of "evidence" pics presented to the UN - journalists had already been to these places), and in the process killing many innocent people.

Now I know why there is opposition from some quarters to an International Criminal Court. We shall see...

[slackologist]

[DVTimes]

Short attacked over bugging claim

Former foreign secretary Robin Cook has cast doubt on Clare Short's claims that the UK spied on UN chief Kofi Annan.
He said he "would be surprised" if it were true Britain had intercepted the calls of Kofi Annan and he urged Ms Short to "put up or shut up".

Mr Cook is among a group of former ministers who have rounded on Ms Short for her outburst which they say is part of efforts to undermine Tony Blair.

But the ex-international development secretary said she stood by her claims.


'Courteous' diplomat

She denied putting the UK or its security services at risk by saying Mr Annan's phone calls were bugged.

And after Tony Blair branded the claims "deeply irresponsible", Ms Short hit back by accusing the prime minister of using "pompous" distraction tactics.

She told BBC Two's Newsnight there was no national interest that justified spying on the UN secretary general.

Meanwhile Richard Butler, the former UN chief weapons inspector, claimed at least four countries bugged his conversations and he is convinced the UN's headquarters in New York is full of spies.

In an article for The Independent, Mr Cook appeared to dispute Ms Short's assertions.

"I would be surprised if it were true that in the run-up to the war on Iraq we intercepted the calls of Kofi Annan," he said.

"I never met anyone in the diplomatic community less likely to engage in subterfuge than Kofi.

"If I, while foreign secretary, wanted to know his honest views, he would courteously and patiently explain them to me if I rang up and asked."

Bugging warning

He said later: "This is part of Clare's political agenda to undermine the prime minister, and it is damaging both to the government and to the party which gave her all the privileges she enjoyed in government.

"She should now put up or shut up."

But former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said he was "not surprised" by the claims because he had been warned his office would be bugged.

"From the first day I entered my office they told me: 'Beware, your office is bugged, your residence is bugged and it's a tradition member states who have the technical capacity to bug will do it without hesitation'," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Boutros-Ghali called for more to be done to protect the UN chief from spying, which he said could cause problems for diplomats and negotiations to fail.

But he added that if he, like Ms Short, had been part of the British government he would not have spoken out.

That view was echoed by Ms Short's former Cabinet colleagues, including Jack Cunningham, who warned that anyone accepting the position she had should "accept and comply with the duty and obligations" and the privileges that came with it.

Silence call

"Clare Short obviously has a personal agenda which is to attack, damage and undermine the prime minister at every opportunity and sadly, that's been the hallmark of her conduct and behaviour since she left the government."

Ex-Scotland secretary Helen Liddell said Ms Short's remarks were "completely unsubstantiated".

"I think a period of silence from Clare might be appreciated," she said.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult to work out where Clare is coming from. This is a pattern of behaviour that really is confounding her friends and colleagues and I don't think it is doing the country any good."

Ms Short's former deputy, George Foulkes, said she had no evidence for her claims and the fisheries minister, Ben Bradshaw, accused her of impugning Mr Blair's integrity.

The UN has said if the claims were true the UK had undermined Mr Annan's work. Chief spokesman Fred Eckhard said any bugging would be illegal and should be stopped.

Answers needed

A former British ambassador to the UN, Sir Crispin Tickell, told Today that Ms Short had committed a "major breach of confidence".

But he said bugging was not necessarily "a bad thing" if done in the national interest - and he doubted whether her claim had affected diplomatic trust.

Edward Mortimer, Mr Annan's director of communications, said the UN had asked the British government whether Ms Short's claims were true.

"I don't think we have got an answer precisely on that," he told Today.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3492250.stm

[DVTimes]

Have Short's spy claims hurt Blair?

If Tony Blair is still looking for weapons of mass destruction, he could do worse than cast his gaze onto his own backbenches.
For, just as he may have felt he had begun to draw a line under the Iraq crisis, Clare Short has detonated in his face.

Until now, thanks in part to Ms Short's maverick behaviour, he has been able to brush her attacks aside with a "Clare will be Clare" shrug.

This time, however, the prime minister has been forced to accept things are far more serious, and that action may have to be taken against her.

Speaking at his monthly news conference, he effectively accused her of putting national security at risk with her claim that British spooks bugged Kofi Annan.

Anyone who attacked the work of the intelligence services undermined the security of the country and was acting in a deeply irresponsible way, he said.

Political damage

Asked if that meant legal action should be taken against Ms Short under the official secrets act, or whether she should be kicked out of the Labour party, he said he would have to "reflect" on the issues.

But in this particular political game, Ms Short's future is little more than a footnote.

What both her remarks and the collapse of the case against GCHQ whistle-blower Katharine Gun have ensured is that the row over the war and its legitimacy is back on the top of the agenda.

And it is still that issue which has the potential to do the prime minister serious political damage.

His refusal to make any comment on the affairs, over and above insisting the intelligence services would never break the law, is his attempt to put the lid back onto it.

Several times during his press conference he was asked to address the generalities of whether the intelligence services should spy on friends like Kofi Annan, or the UN.

And each time he insisted he would not get drawn into discussing the details of intelligence operations because that, too, would be irresponsible and dangerous.

Soon subside

And, of course, that meant he refused to comment on whether or not the allegations were true, or whether the services would ever carry out such operations.

Similarly, he refused to be drawn on the abandoned court case which has again raised claims that the war may have been illegal and that fact was about to be revealed during the case.

The prime minister denied that and continued to express his unbending certainty about the rightness of the war.

And he must know that his refusal to get drawn on these hugely sensitive issues will allow speculation to run rife. He said so himself during his press conference.

But he clearly calculates that will be a short term setback and that, with no extra fuel to pour on the fire, the flames will soon subside.

The real long-term danger for the prime minister is that all this again feeds into the general public perception of how and why Britain was taken to war.

In effect, he has asked voters to trust him when he says the intelligence services would never get up to anything illegal.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3488880.stm

[DVTimes]

Reaction to Short 'bugging' claim

Here is reaction to ex-minister Clare Short's claims that Britain spied on UN General Secretary Kofi Annan:
Former MI5 officer David Shayler, who was jailed for breaching the Official Secrets Act:

Said the revelation could lead to a breakdown in trust with Britain's allies and even if it was not technically illegal to bug Mr Annan, it was "unethical".

"Certainly you can invade the privacy of people suspected of carrying out terrorism and crime, but can you really justify invading the privacy of somebody who is involved in diplomacy?" he told BBC News 24.

Hassen Fodha, the UN director in Brussels:

"The UN works in full transparency. There is no need to spy or to go through secret channels."

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner:

Said many UN officials always worked on the basis that they were being bugged.

But he added: "That is not to say that it is acceptable if they are not suspected of terrorism or other crimes."

Former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali:

Said he was unsurprised by Ms Short's comments.

He told BBC News 24: "I know that the office of the secretary general has been always bugged and it is a kind of tradition...

"Any country which has the technical capacity to do this will do it. It is unfortunate but this is a reality."

Tory shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram:

Was cautious about reacting to Ms Short's remarks, saying: "I think she should be asked why she's saying this now. I don't know what the truth of this is."

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman:

"If these allegations are true, they will do nothing for Britain's already tarnished reputation at the UN."


Donald Anderson, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee:

Said "even talking about what passed over" Ms Short's desk "is wholly wrong in principle".

"That clearly raises questions about fitness for office in the first place," he added.


Former Scotland secretary Helen Liddell:

Said Ms Short had "not been able to substantiate any of the allegations" she had made.


Like every Cabinet minister, Ms Short had had a "debt of honour" to her colleagues and her country.

"I'm not awfully sure that Clare has honoured it today ...

"I think a period of silence might be acceptable from Clare at the moment. There's been a pattern of behaviour from Clare that all of us find increasingly difficult to comprehend. I hope she regrets what she said this morning."

Barry Hugill, spokesman for the civil rights group Liberty:

Said Ms Short's comments did not come "as a great surprise", but technically she had breached the Official Secrets Act by revealing evidence of the activities of British intelligence services..

"It is very difficult to understand how this sort of bug can in any way whatsoever help defend the national security of the United Kingdom.

"There are clearly questions to be answered.

"If the government were as foolish as to try and prosecute Clare Short, Liberty would certainly act in her defence."

Veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell:

"When I heard Clare Short on the radio this morning, my jaw dropped into my porridge.

"The next step is for the prime minister to tell us candidly whether his former Cabinet Minister, who he kept in his Cabinet for a long time, is reporting accurately or inaccurately.

"If it is true that Britain spied on the United Nations secretary general, the consequences are galvanic."

Former intelligence officer Charles Shoebridge:

Told BBC News Online: "On the face of it, Clare Short appears to have committed an offence under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act. Presumably, she is as just as liable to being charged as Katharine Gun?

"This has great ramifications because if she is arrested and charged, that would be incredibly damaging for the government.

"However, if she is not prosecuted her admissions throw down the gauntlet for the future of the Official Secrets Act."

George Foulkes, Ms Short's former deputy at the Department for International Development:

Told Channel 4 News: "This is the latest outburst from Clare. There has been a pattern since she ceased being a minister of constant attacks on the Labour Government and particularly on Tony Blair.

"She has got a clear political agenda here and this is just the latest part of it."

[Krille]

Originally posted by allanuk
Reaction to Short 'bugging' claim

Here is reaction to ex-minister Clare Short's claims that Britain spied on UN General Secretary Kofi Annan:
Former MI5 officer David Shayler, who was jailed for breaching the Official Secrets Act:

Said the revelation could lead to a breakdown in trust with Britain's allies and even if it was not technically illegal to bug Mr Annan, it was "unethical".

"Certainly you can invade the privacy of people suspected of carrying out terrorism and crime, but can you really justify invading the privacy of somebody who is involved in diplomacy?" he told BBC News 24.

Hassen Fodha, the UN director in Brussels:

"The UN works in full transparency. There is no need to spy or to go through secret channels."

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner:

Said many UN officials always worked on the basis that they were being bugged.

But he added: "That is not to say that it is acceptable if they are not suspected of terrorism or other crimes."

Former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali:

Said he was unsurprised by Ms Short's comments.

He told BBC News 24: "I know that the office of the secretary general has been always bugged and it is a kind of tradition...

"Any country which has the technical capacity to do this will do it. It is unfortunate but this is a reality."

Tory shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram:

Was cautious about reacting to Ms Short's remarks, saying: "I think she should be asked why she's saying this now. I don't know what the truth of this is."

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman:

"If these allegations are true, they will do nothing for Britain's already tarnished reputation at the UN."


Donald Anderson, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee:

Said "even talking about what passed over" Ms Short's desk "is wholly wrong in principle".

"That clearly raises questions about fitness for office in the first place," he added.


Former Scotland secretary Helen Liddell:

Said Ms Short had "not been able to substantiate any of the allegations" she had made.


Like every Cabinet minister, Ms Short had had a "debt of honour" to her colleagues and her country.

"I'm not awfully sure that Clare has honoured it today ...

"I think a period of silence might be acceptable from Clare at the moment. There's been a pattern of behaviour from Clare that all of us find increasingly difficult to comprehend. I hope she regrets what she said this morning."

Barry Hugill, spokesman for the civil rights group Liberty:

Said Ms Short's comments did not come "as a great surprise", but technically she had breached the Official Secrets Act by revealing evidence of the activities of British intelligence services..

"It is very difficult to understand how this sort of bug can in any way whatsoever help defend the national security of the United Kingdom.

"There are clearly questions to be answered.

"If the government were as foolish as to try and prosecute Clare Short, Liberty would certainly act in her defence."

Veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell:

"When I heard Clare Short on the radio this morning, my jaw dropped into my porridge.

"The next step is for the prime minister to tell us candidly whether his former Cabinet Minister, who he kept in his Cabinet for a long time, is reporting accurately or inaccurately.

"If it is true that Britain spied on the United Nations secretary general, the consequences are galvanic."

Former intelligence officer Charles Shoebridge:

Told BBC News Online: "On the face of it, Clare Short appears to have committed an offence under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act. Presumably, she is as just as liable to being charged as Katharine Gun?

"This has great ramifications because if she is arrested and charged, that would be incredibly damaging for the government.

"However, if she is not prosecuted her admissions throw down the gauntlet for the future of the Official Secrets Act."

George Foulkes, Ms Short's former deputy at the Department for International Development:

Told Channel 4 News: "This is the latest outburst from Clare. There has been a pattern since she ceased being a minister of constant attacks on the Labour Government and particularly on Tony Blair.

"She has got a clear political agenda here and this is just the latest part of it."

did you even read all that yourself?

[Nat]

they spy on fucking everyone...

the brits and blair is bush lap dog...