Cameron wants Guardian’s use of Snowden leaks reviewed

Prime minister David Cameron has accused The Guardian newspaper of putting Britain’s national security at risk by deciding to use information leaked by a former National Security Agency employee.

In his first comments, yesterday, on the growing row over The Guardian’s exposure of intelligence techniques, Cameron also encouraged a Commons select committee to investigate if the newspaper has broken the law.

Cameron said it was plain to see the Edward Snowden affair had been damaging to the UK and that in agreeing to dispose of the relevant information it had obtained, the newspaper effectively accepted its involvement in this: “I think the plain fact is that what has happened has damaged national security, and in many ways The Guardian themselves admitted that when they agreed, when asked politely by my national security adviser and Cabinet Secretary [Jeremy Heywood] to destroy the files they had, they went ahead and destroyed those files.

“So they know that what they are dealing with is dangerous for national security.”

Mr Cameron’s comments came in an answer during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

Former defence secretary Dr Liam Fox had called for an investigation into The Guardian’s role to determine whether or not it had indeed threatened Britain’s national security.

Mr Cameron replied: “I think it’s up to select committees in this House if they want to examine this issue and make further recommendations.”

In a statement, a spokes- woman for Guardian News and Media said: “We destroyed the computers because the Government said it would use the full force of the law to prevent a newspaper from publishing anything about the NSA or GCHQ [intelligence agency].

“That is called ’prior restraint’ and it is unthinkable in the US, where the New York Times and Washington Post have been widely applauded — along with The Guardian — for reporting on the Snowden files. That reporting has so far led to a presidential review and three proposed bills before Congress.”