Hillary Clinton said she does not need to apologise for using a private e-mail account and server while at the State Department because “what I did was allowed.”

Hillary Clinton and her aides at the US State Department were acutely aware of the need to protect sensitive information when discussing international affairs over email.

Hillary Clinton has urged the US state department to release the emails she wrote from a private email account as secretary of state, weighing in on a controversy that has generated negative attention this week for the likely Democratic presidential candidate.

Hillary Clinton used a personal email account during her time as US secretary of state, rather than a government-issued email address, potentially hampering efforts to archive official government documents required by law.