Britain denies head of its NSA equivalent is leaving because of Edward SnowdenBritain denies head of

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/28/britain-denies-head-of-its-nsa-equivalent-is-leaving-because-of-edward-snowden/



Britain denies head of its NSA equivalent is leaving because of Edward Snowden
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 18:44 EST

Britain announced Tuesday that the head of GCHQ, the secret eavesdropping agency that has come under scrutiny following leaks by former US analyst Edward Snowden is to stand down.

Iain Lobban, 53, will leave the agency later this year after serving nearly six years as director, Britain’s Foreign Office said.

It denied that his departure was related to revelations contained in Snowden’s leaked documents that GCHQ was one of the main players in mass telecommunications surveillance.

“Today is simply about starting the process of ensuring we have a suitable successor in place before he moves on as planned at the end of the year,” said a Foreign Office spokesman.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Huge swath of GCHQ mass surveillance is illegal, says top lawyer

GCHQ's mass surveillance spying programmes are probably illegal and have been signed off by ministers in breach of human rights and surveillance laws, according to a hard-hitting legal opinion that has been provided to MPs.

The advice warns that Britain's principal surveillance law is too vague and is almost certainly being interpreted to allow the agency to conduct surveillance that flouts privacy safeguards set out in the European convention on human rights (ECHR).

The inadequacies, it says, have created a situation where GCHQ staff are potentially able to rely "on the gaps in the current statutory framework to commit serious crime with impunity".

At its most extreme, the advice raises issues about the possible vulnerability of staff at GCHQ if it could be proved that intelligence used for US drone strikes against "non-combatants" had been passed on or supplied by the British before being used in a missile attack.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/28/gchq-mass-surveillance-spying-law-lawyer

[Peace Patriot]

2. "Today is simply about starting the process of ensuring...blah, blah, blah..."

When Foreign Office spokesmen talk like that, look out!

When bureaucrats leave out the word "that," look out!
(“Today is simply about starting the process of ensuring THAT we have a suitable successor in place before he moves on as planned at the end of the year." No time for "that." No time for the truth--the lies all crammed together like hasty pudding.)

[bemildred]

3. Right. nt