The operations of the United Statesâ„¢ National Security Agency (NSA) and the British spy agencies are intertwined and bilateral intelligence exchanges are nothing new, a British intelligence analyst says.
Glenmore Trenear Harvey, who is a writer and lecturer on intelligence and security, told RT that the United Kingdom-United States agreement of the 1940â„¢s for intelligence cooperation among Britain, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is still relevant today and the so-called Five Eyes continue to share secret material.
Harvey added that British eavesdropping agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), operates very similar and close to its American counterpart, the NSA.
Harvey further stressed there are three key bodies in Britain that are directly funded by the NSA and are currently home to 750 NSA agents.
His comments follow revelations by The Guardian earlier this week that Washington has paid at least £100 million to the British government over the past three years to buy access to and influence over Britain’s intelligence gathering operations by the GCHQ.
The paper claimed the top secret payments, leaked by US whistle blower Edward Snowden, mean GCHQ has to work hard to meet NSA demands.
The disclosure raised concerns that Washington is pulling the strings at Britainâ„¢s biggest spy agency and that London is becoming too much dependent on American intelligence agencies.
Snowden has claimed that the NSA and the GCHQ have been working together to tap a large portion of online activity around the world, each using the other to do its Å“dirty work” through existing legal loopholes in the US and Britain.
Documents leaked by Snowden show 60 percent of Britainâ„¢s whole processed intelligence comes from the NSA.
AMR/HE
Republished from: Press TV