UK should stop spy software sales to Iran

THE UK GOVERNMENT should step in and stop companies from selling restrictive and spying technologies to Iran, according to a lawmaker.

Speaking in the House of Lords, David Alton asked the government to prevent the sale of mobile phone tracking software to Iran, which he said allowed that country to arrest and repress dissidents.

"Iranian democracy activists state that during interrogation and torture they have been confronted with complete telephone records of their conversations and with details of their movements intercepted by mobile telephone monitoring devices manufactured in the UK," he said today in the House of Lords, according to a report at Bloomberg.

Alton asked why the sale of the software to Iran is allowed and called for someone to account for the sale of equipment by Creativity Software, a firm with links to Foreign Secretary William Hague. He asked whether the government would "permit Creativity Software to continue providing British-made intercept software and equipment to Irancell."

Earlier this week the Daily Telegraph revealed that Creativity Software had made a deal with Iran, a fact that was confirmed to Bloomberg.

Creativity Software secured the contract to "provide lawful intercept solutions" to Iran two years ago, which was around the same time that its major shareholder was funding William Hague and his political campaign office. µ