London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 20, 2026

Greek spyware inquiry ends in stalemate

Greek spyware inquiry ends in stalemate

Government and opposition disagree on disagreeing on findings of parliamentary inquiry.
Greece's national parliament has finished its investigation into the use of spyware by security services. Just don't ask lawmakers what the shared conclusions are.

Political parties late on Monday submitted their findings of the special parliamentary inquiry that was set up to investigate the spying scandal that has engulfed the government ever since allegations emerged that the government had been spying on political opposition.

The controversy started in August when the government acknowledged it had wiretapped opposition leader’s Nikos Androulakis' phone — a move it called legal but wrong. Two senior government officials, the government’s chief of staff and the head of the country’s National Intelligence Service (EYP), lost their jobs. It then quickly turned into an espionage thriller that involved controversial spyware Predator being planted on the phones of an ever-expanding network of politicians and journalists. But the government has claimed no connection to — or even knowledge of — these broader cases.

After weeks of hearings, the ruling party New Democracy this week said it considered the issue closed, doubling down on its defense that the surveillance was deemed legal by the investigation's findings.

New Democracy also said the hearings proved that there is no link between Predator spyware found on opposition figures' and journalists' phones on the one hand, and the country’s spy service on the other. "The opposition's allegations of a scandal surrounding the legal surveillance of Androulakis’ phone and the operation of the National Intelligence Service (EYP) collapsed like a house of cards," reads their conclusion.

But opposition parties, including Androulakis' Pasok party and the left-wing Syriza party, vehemently disagreed, accusing the government of a major cover-up in trying to brush aside the evidence laid out in the investigation.

Syriza blamed the New Democracy party, which holds the majority in the inquiry, for blocking key witnesses from appearing at the hearings, including journalists whose phones had been wiretapped or who had investigated the issue, as well as state officials from the police and Greek secret service. The government’s main concern was “not the truth and the unravelling of the case but the cover-up and the disappearance of evidence that could lead to the attribution of not only political but also possible criminal responsibility.”

“Further investigation of the case both by the Greek parliament with all available parliamentary means, including the preliminary investigation committee, and by the criminal justice system is needed,” Syriza said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
England Tightens School Food Standards With Restrictions on Deep-Fried and High-Sugar Foods
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Proposed Asylum Centre
Michael Marra Elected Leader of Scottish Labour
BBC Cash Reserves Fall Sharply as Financial Pressures Mount
George Osborne Calls for UK to Rejoin EU Customs Union
UK Explores Joining Canada-Led Global Defence Bank
Thirlwall Inquiry Highlights Management Failures Surrounding Lucy Letby Crimes
Parliamentary Committee Calls for New UK Law to Address AI Risks to Human Rights
UK Considers Giving Regional Mayors Greater Oversight of Water Companies
UK Opposition Presses Burnham for Stronger Response to Russian Security Threats
Reform UK Faces Scrutiny Over £72 Million in Donations as Political Finance Rules Tighten
Millisecond Software Failure Behind UK Air-Traffic Outage That Cancelled More Than 2,000 Flights
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Energy Prices Complicate Inflation Outlook
Burnham Warns of Difficult Choices in October Budget as UK Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20.5 Million Non-Domicile Tax Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Heavy Losses After Collapse
Thirteenth Metropolitan Police Officer Dismissed Over Charing Cross Conduct
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
NHS Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Women With Incurable Breast Cancer
Software Defect Blamed for Major UK Air Traffic Disruption
×