Belgium condemns UK over refusal to cooperate with inquiry into alleged British hacking of telecoms company

Britain’s GCHQ hacked into Belgium’s biggest telecoms company over two years, according to a Belgian judicial inquiry

Alleged hacking could have provided access to communications at Nato, the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council

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Satellite dishes at GCHQ’s outpost at Bude, Cornwall. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:42pm, 25 Oct 2018Updated: 9:52pm, 25 Oct 2018

The British government has been accused of endangering diplomatic relations with Belgium after its “exceptional” refusal to cooperate with an inquiry into GCHQ’s alleged hacking of Belgacom, the country’s biggest telecoms company.

For at least two years ending in 2013, the British intelligence service was probably spying within the state-owned company’s networks on the instruction of UK ministers, according to leaks from a judicial inquiry presented to Belgium’s national security council this week.

Belgacom’s headquarters in Brussels in 2011. Photo: Alamy

When asked by the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office to cooperate with the investigation into the alleged hacking, Britain’s Home Office is said to have refused, claiming: “The United Kingdom believes that this could jeopardise our sovereignty, security and public order.”

According to Belgian newspaper De Standaard, the prosecutor’s office regarded the response as “exceptional between EU states and something that could lead to a diplomatic incident”.

Sophia in ’t Veld, a member of the European parliament’s committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, tweeted in response to the media report: “Remarkable attitude towards other European countries, pre or post Brexit.”