Greek PM slams wire-tapping claims as 'incredible lie'


A Greek newspaper has reported that more than 30 people, including government ministers, have been under state surveillance. But Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the claims were made "without the faintest proof."

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday slammed a report about him wiretapping his own ministers as "an incredible lie" as his conservative government vowed to ban the sale of spyware.

The development comes after a newspaper reported that more than 30 people, including ministers and business people, had been under state surveillance via phone malware.

The main opposition party has threatened to table a no-confidence motion over the scandal.

PM says there is no proof

Greece's Supreme Court has ordered an investigation, while Syriza, the far-left party of former PM Alexis Tsipras, demanded the government shed light on the affair before the next election, which is due next year.

Mitsotakis hit back on Monday, though, calling the report by left-wing weekly newspaper Documento, which is close to Syriza, "shameful."

"We have a publication revealing a series of people allegedly under surveillance without the faintest proof that that was actually happening," he told private broadcaster Antena1.

"I have never claimed there wasn't any surveillance. It's another thing to accuse the prime minister of orchestrating this action," he said.
Snowballing scandal

The newspaper report is part of an ongoing wiretapping scandal that has sparked outrage in Greece, as the European Union takes a closer look at the use and sale of spyware.

A Greek prosecutor began an inquiry earlier this year while the alleged targets include a former conservative prime minister and the current foreign and finance ministers.

jsi/dj (AFP, Reuters)