UK spies 'bugged UN's Kofi Annan'

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Here is the top UK story complete with a link to a transcript of an interview where former UK minister Claire Short was quite relaxed as she spilled the beans on UK naughtiness at the UN. Make of this what you will.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3488548.stm

British spies were bugging UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's office in the run up to the Iraq war, former UK cabinet minister Clare Short has claimed.
The ex-international development secretary said she had read some of the transcripts of his conversations.

Ms Short said she recalled thinking, as she talked to Mr Annan: "Oh dear, there will be a transcript of this and people will see what he and I are saying."

No 10 refused to comment and the UN said such spying would be illegal.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1156820,00.html

JH: What this memo showed - the secret memo that Katherine Gun disclosed - what it showed was pressure from the United States on other countries to get support for a second UN resolution and spying indeed on those countries. Do you believe that Britain, our government, might have been involved in that with the United States?

CS: Well there was enormous ... on a second resolution, of course it's clear now there was a date for war so they didn't mean Blix do his job and then come to a second resolution if need be, but they were going to war anyway and they were going to bully and pressurise countries to vote for it. I mean enormous pressure was brought to bear, Valerie Amos, Lady Amos, went round Africa with people from our intelligence services trying to press them. I had to make sure that we didn't promise the misuse of aid in a way that would be illegal.

JH: But did someone suggest, sorry can I just question you on that for a second. Did someone suggest that might have been the right strategy?

CS: We were worried that was going to be done and went to some trouble to make sure her briefing made it clear that that could not legally be done. I Mean the UK in this time was also spying on Kofi Annan's office and getting reports from him about what was going on. The US was pressing Chile and Mexico, enormous pressures were brought to bear - I mean what was remarkable was that these countries didn't break. And if you remember, the other part of the context is we were then all deceived about the French position and told the French had said they would veto any second resolution, which wasn't true, we now know. Chirac had said we veto now because Blix needs his time but if Blix failed then of course we would vote with others to authorise military action