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A woman
passes the British embassy in Berlin on November 5, 2013 (AFP,
John Macdougall)
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Berlin —
Germany said Tuesday it had asked to speak to Britain's ambassador following a
media report that London has been operating a secret listening post from its
embassy in Berlin.
"At
the instigation of Foreign Minister (Guido) Westerwelle, the British ambassador
was asked to come for a meeting at the Federal Foreign Office," a foreign
ministry statement said.
It added
that the ministry's head of European affairs had "asked for an explanation
of current reports in British media and indicated that tapping communications
from a diplomatic mission would constitute a violation of international
law".
The
request, which was not a summons but is unusual between European Union
partners, was prompted by a report in the Independent newspaper Tuesday of a
spy post not far from Chancellor Angela Merkel's office in Berlin.
Almost two
weeks ago, Germany summoned the US ambassador -- a stronger diplomatic step --
over evidence that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had tapped Merkel's
mobile phone, a revelation which frayed German-US ties.
The
Independent report said Britain's electronic eavesdropping centre GCHQ
(Government Communications Headquarters) appeared to be using high-tech
equipment on the embassy roof to intercept German data.
The
broadsheet cited aerial photographs and information about past spying
activities in Germany, as well as documents provided by Edward Snowden, the
former NSA contractor who has fled to Moscow.
An
eavesdropping post on the roof of the US embassy in Berlin is believed to have
been shut down last week as Washington scrambled to limit damage from the row,
the Independent reported.
William
Gatward, press spokesman for the British embassy, confirmed the talks had taken
place. "The ambassador did attend the meeting at the foreign ministry this
afternoon," he told AFP, without giving further details.
Merkel
rolled out the red carpet for British Prime Minister David Cameron in April,
inviting not only him but his family to stay overnight at the German
government's 18th century guest house, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of
Berlin.
Cameron
alarmed fellow EU leaders in January when he set out plans to wrest back powers
from Brussels, and to then put Britain's reshaped membership to an in-out referendum
by the end of 2017.
Merkel has
repeatedly underscored that she views Britain as a crucial member of the EU
that must be encouraged to maintain its engagement in the bloc.
Her
spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters at the time that contacts with Cameron
were "extremely intensive".
"For
us, Britain is an important and indispensable partner in Europe," he said.
The
Independent said Snowden's documents suggested GCHQ has worked with US agencies
and other partners to operate a network of electronic spying posts from
embassies around the world, intercepting data in host nations.
A
spokeswoman for Cameron's office said: "We don't comment on intelligence
matters."
The British
daily printed photos showing an aerial view of the British and US embassies --
which are on the same block next to the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin --
highlighting large white boxes that it said were the intercept
"nests".
Thermal
images of the US embassy provided by the German public broadcaster ARD
allegedly show a significant reduction in activity between October 24 and
October 25, when claims first emerged that Merkel's phone had been tapped.
ARD
broadcast the images on October 27, saying that the top floor of the embassy
possibly houses a listening "nest".
Meanwhile
US Secretary of State John Kerry, on a visit to Poland, urged European leaders
not to allow the spying row to disrupt talks with the European Union to create
the world's largest free trade zone.
And
Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper published Brazilian intelligence
documents indicating Brazil spied on French secret service agents in 2003 over
suspicions of sabotage at its Alcantara space base where an explosion had
killed 21 people.
Brazil has
strongly denounced US surveillance of its leaders.
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| The mysterious boxes highlighted on top of the US embassies in Stockholm, Moscow, Berlin and Beijing. (Internet photo) |
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