US spy agency employee admits to operating drone that crashed at the White House

An employee of a US spy agency has confessed to operating the small drone that crashed on the grounds of the White House on Monday, the agency said, the latest in a series of incidents that raised questions about the president's security.

A spokesman for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) said on Tuesday that an off-duty employee had told the US Secret Service, which guards the presidential mansion, that he had been flying the four-propeller drone.

The NGA is a Defence Department agency whose principal job is to analyse photographs taken by spy planes and satellites.

The spokesman said that the Secret Service was investigating and at this point the man was not facing disciplinary action. It did not name the employee or explain why he was operating the device near the White House.

A Secret Service spokesman said the device, which set off an alert and a lockdown at the White House, was used for recreational purposes and did not appear dangerous.

US President Barack Obama, who was travelling abroad, said he understood the drone was of a type available at a high street chain store and the incident illustrated the need for more regulation over such new technologies.