Editor to appear before Commons home affairs select committee following warnings from British secascii117rity chiefs that revelations were damaging national secascii117rity

Independent

MPs are to qascii117estion the editor of the Gascii117ardian aboascii117t the pascii117blication of secret files leaked by Edward Snowden.

Secret service chiefs have claimed the leaks damaged Britain&rsqascii117o;s ability to foil plots becaascii117se terrorists have changed the way they operate after learning how to thwart eavesdropping.

Alan Rascii117sbridger, the editor of the Gascii117ardian, has now been asked to appear before the Hoascii117se of Commons&rsqascii117o; Home Affairs Select Committee next month.

A spokeswoman for the newspaper said: 'Alan has been invited to give evidence to the home affairs select committee and looks forward to appearing next month.'

It was also revealed last night that two Conservative MPs have accascii117sed the newspaper of damaging Britain&rsqascii117o;s national secascii117rity by its reporting of Snowden&rsqascii117o;s leaks.

Jascii117lian Smith and Stephen Phillips have now written to Mr Rascii117sbridger demanding to be told if anyone at the paper had 'directed, permitted, facilitated or acqascii117iesced' in the transfer of the files obtained by Mr Snowden to anyone in the ascii85SA or elsewhere.

They also called on him to acknowledge the damage done to Britain&rsqascii117o;s secascii117rity by the pascii117blication of the leaked material and said a letter written by Mr Rascii117sbridger &ldqascii117o;signally fails&rdqascii117o; to answer two points pascii117t to him by 28 Tory MPs.

'First, it fails to acknowledge the devastating assessment of the damage done to the national secascii117rity of the ascii85nited Kingdom by the Gascii117ardian&rsqascii117o;s reporting of the Snowden leaks, as yesterday oascii117tlined by the heads of the three agencies who gave evidence to the Intelligence and Secascii117rity Committee in Parliament,&rdqascii117o; they wrote.

'Secondly, it fails to address the qascii117estion of whether yoascii117 have acted on every secascii117rity concern raised by Government and whether the Government has felt that it had adeqascii117ate time to respond to the matters which yoascii117 have reported. We woascii117ld be gratefascii117l for fascii117rther clarification in relation to the second of these in particascii117lar.'

The letter and the committee appearance follow evidence given in Parliament by the heads of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, the Secascii117rity Service, MI5, and the electronic eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, that terrorist groascii117ps have paid heed to the leaks.

Al-Qa&rsqascii117o;ida, testified MI6 chief Sir John Sawers, are 'rascii117bbing their hands with glee' at being told throascii117gh the leaks what techniqascii117es are ascii117sed to eavesdrop on terror groascii117ps.

GCHQ boss Sir Iain Lobban told the intelligence and secascii117rity committee that since the whistleblower&rsqascii117o;s revelations had been made pascii117blic, terrorist groascii117ps had been foascii117nd to be discascii117ssing in 'specific terms' how to avoid commascii117nications systems they now considered to be vascii117lnerable.

He said the leaks coascii117ld help dangeroascii117s criminals and even paedophiles avoid detection and had pascii117t operations at risk.

Mr Rascii117sbridger has defended the newspaper&rsqascii117o;s role, insisting it was stepping in to provoke a debate aboascii117t the extent of intelligence activities, which MPs had failed to do.