Under-fire spying centre ‘helped counter Olympics terror threat’

Mr Hague said collaboration between the UK’s eavesdropping centre GCHQ and America’s National Security Agency was unique, adding that claims the British agency had used information gleaned by the US to circumvent the law were “baseless”.

He told MPs the UK was facing a “growing and diffuse” threat from terrorists which had peaked last summer during the Olympics.

Speaking about suggestions that GCHQ uses the UK’s partnership with the USA to get around UK law, obtaining information that they cannot legally obtain at home, Mr Hague added: “I wish to be absolutely clear that this accusation is baseless. Any data obtained by us from the United States involving UK nationals is subject to proper UK statutory controls and safeguards. Our agencies practise and uphold UK law at all times.”

Mr Hague insisted there remained a “very strong case” for bringing forward proposals for a communications data Bill – dubbed a snooper’s charter by critics – even though Britain’s security services have the tools they need.

Prime Minister David Cameron also declared that he was satisfied the UK intelligence services “operate in a way that is proper and that is fitting”.

The Government was responding after documents leaked by former CIA worker Edward Snowden suggested GCHQ has had access to a US spy programme since at least 2010.

Prism is said to give access to the systems of nine of the world’s top Internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Skype. Earlier, a group of civil liberties campaigners accused Mr Hague of using the sort of justifications for monitoring “we might expect from China, not the UK”.