Quizzed by MPs, UK spooks say Qaida lapping up Snowden leaks

LONDON: Al-Qaida and other British intelligence targets are having a field day with the leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, UK spy chiefs told lawmakers on Thursday in a strong condemnation of the American's spying revelations.

Iain Lobban, chief of the eavesdropping agency GCHQ, said his spies have picked up "near-daily discussion" of the unauthorized disclosures among his agency's targets. His colleague John Sawers, the chief of MI6, was even more explicit. "It's clear that our adversaries are rubbing their hands in glee," he told lawmakers. "Al-Qaida is lapping it up."

Lobban, Sawers and Andrew Parker, head of MI5, Britain's domestic spying agency, were giving their first public, televised testimony to British lawmakers on Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee. Their appearances came amid a fierce international debate over British and American intelligence tactics.

All three spy chiefs insisted their agencies operate within the law, guaranteeing parliamentarians that their work was both legal and proportionate.