Greens upset by claims that NZ saw reports of Blix bugging

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Reports that New Zealand was among countries shown transcripts of bugged telephone calls by former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion have angered the Green Party.

MP Keith Locke yesterday demanded answers from Prime Minister Helen Clark to accusations that New Zealand knew the US and Britain were spying on the United Nations.

The claims were made in the Australian media.

On Friday the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported transcripts of Dr Blix's conversations in Iraq were made available not only to Australia's Office of National Assessments, but also to New Zealand.

On Saturday the Australian quoted intelligence sources saying Australian spies got transcripts of bugged conversations of two UN officials, Hans Blix and former Iraq head weapons inspector Richard Butler, as part of the US-led effort to mount a case for the Iraq war.

Both were said to have been subjected to routine bugging while they led teams searching for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Helen Clark, the minister in charge of the Security Intelligence Service, said she did not comment on security issues.

Mr Locke said Helen Clark could not get away with that. "New Zealanders are owed an explanation," he said.

"Was our stand against the Iraq war being compromised by involvement with US and British spying on Dr Blix?"

Herald Feature: Iraq