http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,496820,00.html Stuart Millar, Richard Norton-Taylor and Ian Black Saturday May 26, 2001 The Guardian
MEPs confirm eavesdropping by Echelon electronic network.
For years it has been the subject of bitter controversy, its existence repeatedly claimed but never officially acknowledged. At last, the leaked draft of a report to be published next week by the European parliament removes any lingering doubt: Echelon, a shadowy, US-led worldwide electronic spying network, is a reality.
Echelon is part of an Anglo-Saxon club set up by secret treaty in 1947, whereby the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, divided the world between them to share the product of global eavesdropping. Agencies from the five countries exchange intercepts using supercomputers to identify key words.
The intercepts are picked up by ground stations, including the US base at Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire, and GCHQ's listening post at Morwenstow in Cornwall. <...>