David Cameron under pressure on Guardian computer smashing

By -
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday faced calls to address parliament on why the country's top civil servant pressured the Guardian newspaper to destroy or return Edward Snowden's leaked files.
The call from a senior lawmaker came as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's spokesman said that asking the daily to comply was better than taking legal action over the documents handed over by the former US National Security Agency, NSA, contractor.
Britain meanwhile faced fresh international criticism over both the computer incident and the detention at the weekend of David Miranda, the boyfriend of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald who worked with Snowden on the leaks.
The left-liberal Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger has claimed he was ordered to destroy some of the newspaper's classified Snowden files during a shadowy visit from a senior government official a month ago.
The government confirmed on Wednesday that the official sent to the Guardian was Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood, a politically neutral civil servant who is Cameron's most senior policy advisor.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the British parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee scrutiny body, called on Cameron to make a "full statement" to the House of Commons when it returns in September.
"The actions of the cabinet secretary are unprecedented and show that this issue has reached the highest levels of government," he said.
"It explains why Downing Street, the White House and the home secretary were briefed in advance about David Miranda's detention.
"The prime minister must make a full statement to parliament on the day it returns. We need to know the full facts. Nothing less will do."
Rusbridger said two security experts from Britain's electronic eavesdropping agency GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) oversaw the destruction of hard drives on July 20.
Beforehand, the editor had informed government officials that copies of the files, which were encrypted, existed outside Britain and that the newspaper was neither their sole recipient nor their steward.
A senior editor and a Guardian computer expert used power tools to pulverise the hard drives and memory chips.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UBTH @50: Obaseki hails institution’s role in strengthening Edo healthcare

By -
Image
(Nigeria) Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has commended the staff and management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for their unwavering commitment, dedication, and hard work in providing high-quality healthcare services to the people of Edo State and Nigeria in the past fifty years. Obaseki, at a dinner organized in honour of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Nigeria, at the Government House, Benin City, reassured the government’s continuous partnership and collaboration with the federal government-owned health institution to strengthen the health system and ensure quality health delivery to Edo people. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, reeled out the gains of the government’s reforms in the health sector, commending the medical centre for bolstering the government’s efforts at transforming Edo State into a health hub. He said, "We came into a wilderness where you have to cut a part for yourself and fix it. We held
Read more

Tinubu departs Nigeria for Europe on working visit

By -
Image
*President-elect,  Bola Tinubu,  departs Nigeria for Europe on working visit (Nigeria) President-elect Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, departed Nigeria for Europe on a working visit. Office of the President-elect, in a statement on Wednesday, by Tunde Rahman, said: “He will use the opportunity of the trip to finetune the transition plans and programmes, and his policy options with some of his key aides without unnecessary pressures and distractions. “During the visit, the President-elect will engage with investors and other key allies with the goal of marketing investment opportunities in the country and his administration’s readiness to enable a business-friendly climate through policies and regulations. “Already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up. “Asiwaju Tinubu hopes to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership through mutually-beneficial partnerships p
Read more