GCHQ has been covertly gathering information from leading internet companies through a secret US spy programme, it has been reported.
The Guardian said that it had obtained documents showing that GCHQ had access to the Prism system, set up by America's National Security Agency (NSA), since at least June 2010.
The documents were said to show that GCHQ had generated 197 intelligence reports through the system from May 2011 to May 2012 - a 137 per cent increase on the previous year.
