"I have nothing to say with respect to the activities of the UK. We never talk about intelligence matters of that nature in public," Powell told reporters here following a meeting with Bulgarian foreign minister Solomon Passy.
Claims by former British minister, Claire Short, that Britain bugged Annan's office at United Nations headquarters in New York have rocked the British goverment and sent shockwaves through the diplomatic world.
Britain was the closest ally to the US when the two countries were trying to get a green light from the world body to launch an invasion of Iraq.
Annan's spokesperson Fred Eckhard said yesterday he would be "disappointed" if the claim proved to be true, and said any such spying is "illegal".
The storm broke in London a day after government prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against Katherine Gun, a British intelligence translator who had leaked a US intelligence memo requesting Britain's help in spying on non-aligned UN Security Council members during the build up to war. – Sapa-AFP.
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