Short may face probe over spy claims
Former international development secretary Clare Short may face a probe into her claims that Britain spied on UN chief Kofi Annan.
Ms Short said spies eavesdropped on Mr Annan in the run-up to the Iraq war last year.
Her comments came after Katharine Gun’s trial collapsed. Ms Gun, a GCHQ employee, was sacked for suggesting that US intelligence services requested British counterparts to bug the phones of UN security council members.
Yesterday, Home Secretary David Blunkett refused to rule out an inquiry, saying the issue would be looked in the “cold light of day.”
He denied Scotland Yard commissioner, Sir John Stevens, would prosecute Ms Short for breaking the Official Secrets Act.
The Prime Minister is under pressure to make a statement on the veracity of Ms Short’s allegations.
The Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs has demanded to know if anti-war MPs were bugged by their own government.
The group of about 40 left-wingers will table an early day motion on Monday, calling for clarification on the extent of the “eavesdropping operation.”
They too want to know if spies bugged the UN secretary general, permanent and non-permanent members of the security council, bodies opposed to the war, members of pressure groups opposed to the war, and MPs.
In a similar vein, the Liberal Democrats have called on Mr Blair to categorically state whether Ms Short’s allegations are true.
Yesterday, Australian radio reported that Mr Blix’s phone was bugged whenever he visited Iraq, with the details of transmissions shared between the US, Britain and allies.
Mr Blair took a swipe at the increasingly beleaguered Ms Short yesterday, warning delegates that Labour’s chances of winning an historic third term could be damaged by “the alliance that has attacked the Labour party throughout its history: the alliance between some of our own folk who are happy in opposition and the Tory party who are desperate to get out of it.”
He said the Tories were “a bigger threat when they get a little help from our friends.”
Mr Blair the firebrand Labour MP was “totally irresponsible” for her claims.
But Ms Short dismissed the Prime Minister’s statement as “pompous nonsense”.
“Either he has to say it’s true, we are bugging Kofi Annan’s office, which he doesn’t want to say; or he’s got to say it’s not true, and he’d be telling a lie; or he’s got to say something pompous about national security,” she said.
Downing Street said Mr Blair’s refusal to confirm or deny Ms Short’s allegations was done to protect the secrecy of the security services.
