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Hague: No privacy breaches over 'text message snooping'

The Foreign Secretary has insisted he has seen no proof of any privacy breaches after reports that British spies are able to look at millions of captured text messages. The claims were made in the latest leaks by ex-US spy contractor Edward Snowden.

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Ex-official: Reports of text snooping 'a worry'

Former Interception Commissioner Sir Swinton Thomas said reports that British spies have access to millions of text messages were "a worry" and that he would have been concerned about this kind of use of foreign intelligence agency data.

Certainly in my time I would take the view that it not open to our intelligence services to obtain or certainly to use communications or data which would not have been lawful in this country.

It's not dissimilar to the question of whether you use material which you may have reason to believe has been obtained by torture.

It's a different area of course, but the concept is very similar.

– Former Interception Commissioner Sir Swinton Thomas

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