World press seizes on bugging claims

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From: BBC Newsw

Papers across the world have picked up on former British cabinet minister Clare Short's allegations that the British government bugged UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's phone calls.Some argue that the revelations will damage British Prime Minister Tony Blair's reputation, though Ms Short's actions also come in for sharp criticism. The following is a snapshot of international comment:


<<Clare Short, a former Labour minister who is defying her government's accepted line, has once again tripped up Tony Blair... The former minister's accusation is all the more embarrassing because it comes the day after the collapse of a trial linked to the bugging of UN Security Council delegates.

France's Liberation>>

<<This affair comes at a very bad time for Mr Blair, who is attempting a reconciliation with public opinion - one which is rather hostile to the war - by stressing domestic political issues.

France's Le Monde>>


<<If the British government fails to get rid of the spying accusation, this will probably lose London even more credibility.

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung>>

<<The real question mark that hangs over Tony Blair is not about the questionable legality in which the intelligence services nearly always operate, even in democracies with the most solid traditions. The key problem for him is... that of the lack of political credibility - both at home and abroad - linked to Iraq and his total alignment with the policy of the United States.

Italy's Corriere della Sera>>

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3492678.stm