Wrong Angle

The Capenhurst Phone-Tap Tower – Richard Lamont:

…
I was slightly surprised at the `GCHQ bugged Dublin' angle in these reports. For me the issue has always been `Did GCHQ bug Dublin illegally?'. To be legal, there would have to have been a warrant. If there was a warrant, GCHQ could have presented the warrant to BT, which would then have been obliged under the terms of its Oftel licence to provide the tap. Much cheaper, and much more discreet.

If it was legal, why did GCHQ do it the hard way? …

Trust the media to get any story wrong. Not hugely wrong, but wrong enough to make a discussion of the topic meaningless.

… For SIGINT anoraks and anybody who is worried about governmental nosey-parkering, the Capenhurst tower has become part of the Echelon furniture. The story has disappeared from the public gaze as suddenly as it arrived. It seems that few people give a damn.