§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many GCHQ staff are located at Menwith Hill station in north Yorkshire; what are their main duties; to whom they report; if they are required to obtain warrants from him or Ministers in other Departments to intercept communications; how many warrants have been issued in each year from 1992 to date to GCHQ staff at Menwith Hill station; and if he will make a statement. [14811]
§ Mr. HurdI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces on 9 March 1995,Official Report, column 346. All interception of communications on public telecommunications systems in the UK is subject to the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act 1985. It is not our policy to comment on the detailed operations of the intelligence and security agencies.