MONITORING the work of spy agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ should not be the sole preserve of the Commons intelligence and security committee (ISC), MPs said yesterday.

The Commons home affairs committee also recommended that members of the nine-person ISC should be elected in the same manner as select committees.

It further proposed that the ISC chair should always be a member of the Commons, subject to election by Parliament and always be a member of the largest opposition party.