Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
MI5 and GCHQ spied on lawyers, secret papers reveal

THE government was forced yesterday to release secret documents which show that GCHQ and MI5 actively targeted legally privileged conversations between lawyers and their clients.

Legal privilege is a central tenet of British law, protecting confidential communication between lawyer and client.

However, the documents published this week show that for years GCHQ and MI5 advised staff that they could “target the communications of lawyers” and use legally privileged material “just like any other item of intelligence.”

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, January 15, 2026
United States / 18 August 2026
18 August 2026

Trade unions and community groups are mobilising to push back against Trump’s racist raids after new revelations of spying on legal protesters. MARK GRUENBERG reports from the US state of Minnesota

Workers' Rights / 30 July 2026
30 July 2026
Students march against the military dictatorship, 1966
Features / 9 May 2026
9 May 2026

Newly revealed documents reveal that MI5 taught Brazilian secret police the techniques deployed by the 1964-85 military dictatorship in horrific prisons like Rio de Janeiro’s House of Death. SARA VIVACQUA reports

File photo dated 27/03/23 of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair during an interview
Features / 7 October 2025
7 October 2025

JOHN GREEN has doubts about the efficacy of the Freedom of Information Act, once trumpeted by Tony Blair