AFP

Washington

President Barack Obama is considering whether to ban US spy agencies from eavesdropping on allied leaders, a senior official said yesterday, following outrage in Europe over National Security Agency snooping.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the step was under consideration, but that no policy decisions had yet been finalised, as Obama awaits results of several already announced reviews into US surveillance practices.

The Obama administration was under increasing political heat at home and abroad, as revelations based on leaks from fugitive intelligence analyst Edward Snowden threatened to sour ties with allies and complicate its foreign policy goals.

The senior official, however, pushed back on a claim by powerful Senate select intelligence committee chairman Dianne Feinstein that “collection on our allies will not continue.”

The official said that statement was not accurate, though Feinstein’s remarks were unspecific enough to leave considerable doubt as to the true intentions of the administration regarding snooping on foreign leaders.

The officials said that while some changes had been made to US intelligence gathering in the wake of claims that US spies tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone, there had yet been no across-the-board changes, including a decision to halt intelligence sweeps aimed at all foreign allies.

One adjustment Obama does appear to have made is to halt surveillance on Merkel’s cellphone.

Reports have said he did not know about the decade-long surveillance of the German chancellor, whom he considers a friend, and stopped it when he found out.

White House officials said Washington will not and is not tapping Merkel’s phone - leaving the clear implication that it had done so in the past.

Feinstein, a Democrat, had made waves on Monday with a strong denunciation of US spying on foreign leaders - and complained her committee, which is supposed to provide oversight of US intelligence agencies, was not informed of the programme.

“Unless the US is engaged in hostilities against a country or there is an emergency need for this type of surveillance, I do not believe the US should be collecting phone calls or e-mails of friendly presidents and prime ministers,” she said.

The US took a new battering in Europe yesterday when Spain’s public prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into its reported mass eavesdropping on millions of telephone calls to determine if a crime was committed.

The move came a day after the US ambassador to Madrid was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hear a demand for explanations.

Spain became involved after the El Mundo daily published a classified document purportedly showing that US intelligence services tracked 60.5mn Spanish telephone calls in one month.