New Edward Snowden NSA Leak: NSA Paid Britain's Spy Agency GCHQ $150 Mln In Secret Funds

The NSA paid £15.5m towards redevelopments at GCHQ’s site in Bude, north Cornwall, which intercepts communications from the transatlantic cables that carry internet traffic. Photograph: Kieran Doherty/Reuters

Exclusive: NSA Pays £100m In Secret Funding For GCHQ -- The Guardian

• Secret payments revealed in leaks by Edward Snowden
• GCHQ expected to 'pull its weight' for Americans
• Weaker regulation of British spies 'a selling point' for NSA

The US government has paid at least £100m to the UK spy agency GCHQ over the last three years to secure access to and influence over Britain's intelligence gathering programmes.

The top secret payments are set out in documents which make clear that the Americans expect a return on the investment, and that GCHQ has to work hard to meet their demands. "GCHQ must pull its weight and be seen to pull its weight," a GCHQ strategy briefing said.

The funding underlines the closeness of the relationship between GCHQ and its US equivalent, the National Security Agency. But it will raise fears about the hold Washington has over the UK's biggest and most important intelligence agency, and whether Britain's dependency on the NSA has become too great.

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More News On The NSA's Ties With Britain's Spy Agency GCHQ

NSA Paid Britain’s GCHQ $150 Million Over 3 Years: Report -- Epoch Times
NSA paid British spy agency $150 mln in secret funds – new leak -- RT
Snowden Reveals GCHQ Paid £100m in Secret NSA Donations -- International Business Times
GCHQ: inside the top secret world of Britain's biggest spy agency -- The Guardian
NSA and GCHQ – too close for comfort -- Nick Hopkins, The Guardian