Secret intelligence work is essential to protecting people’s freedoms, but it must be done within the law, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in the United States Tuesday.
In barely-disguised comments about the furor surrounding fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, Hague stressed the importance of intelligence sharing between Britain and the United States.
“We should have nothing but pride in the unique and indispensable intelligence-sharing relationship between Britain and the United States,” he said in a speech in California, according to excerpts released in advance.
“In recent weeks this has been a subject of some discussion. Let us be clear about it. In both our countries intelligence work takes place within a strong legal framework.
“We operate under the rule of law and are accountable for it. In some countries secret intelligence is used to control their people — in ours, it only exists to protect their freedoms.”
Hague was speaking at the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley, just north of Los Angeles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Snowden was still in a Moscow airport transit zone, rejecting calls for his extradition to the United States.
The announcement ended two days of guessing at the location of Snowden, who leaked revelations of massive US surveillance programs to the media and is now wanted on espionage charges by US authorities.
British FM, in US, says spying protects freedoms
