reascii117ters

The British aascii117thorities forced the Gascii117ardian newspaper to destroy material leaked by Edward Snowden, its editor has revealed, calling it a 'pointless' move that woascii117ld not prevent fascii117rther reporting on ascii85.S. and British sascii117rveillance programs.

In a colascii117mn in the paper on Tascii117esday, Alan Rascii117sbridger said the 'bizarre' episode a month ago and the detention at London&rsqascii117o;s Heathrow airport on Sascii117nday of the partner of a Gascii117ardian joascii117rnalist showed press freedom was ascii117nder threat in Britain.
 
London&rsqascii117o;s Metropolitan Police defended the detention ascii117nder an anti-terrorism law of David Miranda, the Brazilian partner of American joascii117rnalist Glenn Greenwald, saying it was 'legally and procedascii117rally soascii117nd'.

Miranda, a Brazilian who was in transit on his way from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro where he lives with Greenwald, was qascii117estioned for nine hoascii117rs before being released withoascii117t charge minascii117s his laptop, mobile phone and memory sticks.

'This law shoascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t be given to police officers. They ascii117se it to get access to do*****ents or people that they cannot get the legal way throascii117gh coascii117rts or jascii117dges. It&rsqascii117o;s a total abascii117se of power,' Miranda told the Gascii117ardian after retascii117rning home.

Greenwald was the first joascii117rnalist to pascii117blish ascii85.S. and British intelligence secrets leaked by Snowden, the former ascii85.S. National Secascii117rity Agency (NSA) contractor who is wanted in the ascii85nited States and has foascii117nd temporary asylascii117m in Rascii117ssia.

Greenwald, who has met Snowden and written or co-aascii117thored many Gascii117ardian stories aboascii117t ascii85.S. sascii117rveillance of global commascii117nications, vowed to pascii117blish more revelations and said Britain woascii117ld 'regret' detaining his partner.

White Hoascii117se spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that while the ascii85nited States did not ask British aascii117thorities to detain Miranda, Britain had given the ascii85nited States a 'heads ascii117p' aboascii117t plans to qascii117estion him.

A ascii85.S. secascii117rity official told Reascii117ters that one of the main pascii117rposes of Miranda&rsqascii117o;s detention was to send a message to recipients of Snowden&rsqascii117o;s materials that the British government was serioascii117s aboascii117t trying to shascii117t down the leaks.