14 DAY TRIAL // British Prime Minister David Cameron has made its first comments on the Guardian scandal and it wasn’t to apologize.
The British authorities have launched an investigation in the Guardian’s involvement and reporting on the Snowden files regarding the NSA documents, effectively applying another hit to the freedom of the press.
David Cameron has taken the stage and expressed his opinion on the issue, claiming that the files were dangerous for the UK, the Telegraph reports.
“The plain fact is that what has happened has damaged national security,” Cameron said.
They claimed that the issue was actually admitted by the Guardian when they decided to let security officials destroy some of its hard drives instead of handing over the data.
Of course, it seems the British prime minister understood nothing from the actions of the Guardian, who decided to destroy its own computer equipment as a symbolic gesture, since the files are actually duplicated in several places.
“The prime minister is wrong to say the Guardian destroyed computer files because we agreed our reporting was damaging. We destroyed the computers because the government said it would use the full force of the law to prevent a newspaper from publishing anything about the NSA or GCHQ,” the newspaper’s spokesperson said.
"That is called 'prior restraint' and it is unthinkable in the US, where the New York Times and Washington Post have been widely applauded - along with the Guardian - for reporting on the Snowden files. That reporting has so far led to a Presidential review and three proposed bills before Congress."
Speaking in front of the House of Commons, Cameron said that it is plain fact that what has happened has damaged national security.
The GCHQ has been named in numerous reports on the Snowden files so far indicating that the agency had been working closely with the NSA in spying on innocent Internet users through programs such as Tempora.