ANKARA (CÝHAN) - The Turkish National Intelligence Agency admitted it tapped the phone lines of the British ambassador to Ankara and the EU representative to Turkey, the Turkish Radikal daily reported on Friday.
The diplomatic scandal surfaced when the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) acknowledged in a complaint file against "Civil Coup Attempt and Iraqi Wars in Ankara book "Civil Coup Attempt and Iraqi Wars in Ankara" by Turkish journalist Hikmen Bila, that it had listened to phone calls of British ambassador Peter Westmacott and EU representative Michael Leigh.
The MIT Under Secretary filed a complaint against Fikret Bila last week for publishing classified documents of the MIT.
Hikmet Bila included a "top secret" document of MIT in his book. The National Intelligence Agency sent a letter to the MIT under secretary, the Turkish Justice Ministry and the State Security Court Chief Prosecution Office, acknowledging that "the top secret file" was the product of the MIT.
The Turkish National Intelligence Agency does not have authorization to tap the phone lines of foreign diplomats serving in Turkey.