Greece spy scandal: Mitsotakis acknowledges intelligence 'error'

UPDATE DAY

ATHENS | Greece's conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday called the intelligence surveillance of a leftist opposition leader a “politically unacceptable” “mistake”, a scandal that is rocking his government. 

Two resignations, including that of the head of the national intelligence services (EYP), dealt a major blow to his government on Friday after the revelation of the Predator malware surveillance of Nikos Androulakis' mobile phone, MEP and leader of the Pasok-Kinal party, the third party in parliament.

These two resignations came ten days after Mr. Androulakis (socialist) denounced “the attempt to monitor” his cell phone and took legal action.

The procedure for monitoring Mr. Androulakis' cell phone by the EYP was made “legally”, but “it was a mistake”, admitted the Prime Minister in a televised address.

“I was not aware”, he said. he said, judging the action of the EYP “politically unacceptable” and castigating “endemic failures” in this service.

The EYP has been under the aegis of Kyriakos Mitsotakis since his election in July 2019, under one of the first reforms decided by his government.

“A few days ago, I was informed that in September 2021, and when he was already an MEP, the national intelligence service had established a legal connection with the mobile phone of Nikos Androulakis”, he said.

The Prime Minister has promised a series of “reforms” to correct “the failings” of the EYP.

On Friday, the resignation of EYP leader Panagiotis Kontoleon was preceded by a few hours by that of Grigoris Dimitriadis, secretary general of the prime minister's office and nephew of the latter, implicated by the Reporters United investigative sites and the Greek daily Efimerida ton syntakton (Efsyn, left) for his alleged links with a marketing company of the Predator in Greece.

These investigative sites as well as the Inside Story site have these months published an investigation into alleged surveillance in Greece.