UK agency accesses US web spying data

Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency GCHQ has been covertly gathering information from leading internet companies through a secret US spy programme.

The Guardian said it had obtained documents showing that GCHQ had access to the Prism system, set up by America’s National Security Agency (NSA), since at least Jun 2010.

The documents were said to show that the British agency had generated 197 intelligence reports through the system in the 12 months to May 2012 — a 137% rise on the previous year.