London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Pegasus spyware: UK PM urged to cut taxpayer funding for Gulf allies linked to scandal

Pegasus spyware: UK PM urged to cut taxpayer funding for Gulf allies linked to scandal

In wake of Pegasus hacking, supporting Gulf countries with cyber security aid may 'pose a serious threat to our national security', MPs tell Boris Johnson
The UK government should cut off Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain from a multimillion pound, taxpayer-funded programme in the wake of the Pegasus spyware scandal, MPs have told Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Along with supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the Gulf Strategy Fund is set this year to provide a UK cyber ambassador who will help the Gulf allies - accused of hacking British citizens - to defend themselves from cyber security attacks.

The MPs, led by Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs and International Development spokesperson Layla Moran, argue that while the government says the fund provides the UK with trade and national security benefits, the alleged hacking of British citizens by Gulf countries with Pegasus proves otherwise.

They called on Johnson to suspend the programme - which they say has already provided up to £53.4m to six Gulf countries - pending a review into its implications for human rights.

"The cyberattacks referenced above appear to show a blatant disregard by these GCC states for both UK and international law," they wrote.

"The continued supply of surveillance equipment and services, as well as of advanced military and technical training and equipment to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, may in fact pose a serious threat to our national security."

Details about the alleged use of Pegasus by NSO Group clients to target British citizens came to light in July, after journalists working with cyber security campaigners obtained a leaked database of 50,000 phone numbers selected by NSO Group clients.

The numbers were linked to phones used by politicians, human rights defenders and journalists, and forensic analysis of some of the devices found evidence that Pegasus software had been installed on them.

The MPs' letter comes a week after the US government blacklisted NSO Group, along with Candiru, a second Israeli spyware firm, saying the companies' activities were contrary to US national security interests.

It also follows a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week in which a rights group called for an immediate investigation into the potential hacking of UK citizens and residents via the spyware, saying not enough had been done in the wake of the spyware scandal.

That sentiment was echoed in the letter, with MPs saying the silence from Johnson's government was concerning.

"Your government has failed to publicly condemn the actions of either NSO Group or the Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini governments or take substantive action to protect UK nationals and residents," they wrote.

They urged Johnson to follow the US lead and impose trade sanctions on NSO Group, and "ensure there is much tighter supervision on the licensing of relevant software in compliance with international human rights law".

In July, a Cabinet Office minister disclosed during a House of Lords debate that the UK government had repeatedly complained to Israel over NSO Group's operations before the latest revelations.

Asked how long the British government had known about the use of the software by authoritarian governments, and what it had done about it, Lord True, the minister, replied: “We have raised our concerns several times with the government of Israel about NSO’s operations.”

Neither Lord True nor the Cabinet Office have answered MEE's questions about what sparked the complaints, and when they were made.

The NSO Group has stressed that it does not operate the spyware that it sells to its customers - who are limited to sovereign states, or the law enforcement or intelligence services of those states - and does not have access to the data of its clients' targets.

It has also indicated that it previously shut down the systems of several customers and would not hesitate to do so again, but would not identify current or former customers "due to contractual and national security considerations".
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×