French to sue US and Britain over
network of spies
FROM ADAM SAGE IN PARIS
THE British and US Governments are to be
sued in France after claims that they have spied
on French companies, diplomats and Cabinet
ministers. Lawyers are planning a class action
after confirmation last week that a global
anglophone spy network exists.
Codenamed P-415 Echelon, the world's most
powerful electronic spy system was revealed in
declassified US National Security Agency
documents published on the Internet, and is
capable of intercepting telephone
conversations, faxes and e-mails.
The system was established in the 1980s by the
UKUSA alliance, which unites the British,
American, Australian, New Zealand and
Canadian secret services. In Europe, its
listening devices are at Menwith Hill defence
base in Yorkshire. French MPs claim to have
evidence that the European Airbus consortium
lost a Fr35 billion (£3.5 billion) contract in
1995 after its offer was overheard and passed to
Boeing. Georges Sarre, a left-wing MP, said:
"The participation of the United Kingdom in
spying on its European partners for and with
the US raises serious and legitimate concerns
in that it creates a particularly acute conflict of
interest within the European Union."
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties
Committee will study a report on the Echelon
network on February 23. The debate is certain
to fuel criticism of Britain's role.
Until this month, the network was an official
secret recognised by none of the members of
the UKUSA alliance. But the documents
published by the George Washington
University prove its existence and its capacity
to intercept civilian satellite communications.
Jean-Pierre Millet, a Parisian lawyer, said that
Echelon tracked every mobile and satellite call,
but only decoded those involving a key figure.
"You can bet that every time a French
government minister makes a mobile phone
call, it is recorded," he said.
M Millet said that Echelon's system leaves it
open to legal challenge under French privacy
laws. "The simple fact that an attempt has been
made to intercept a communication is against
the law in France, however the information is
exploited." Yesterday he said that he would
bring an action on behalf of French civil liberty
groups.
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