GCHQ denies helping Obama spy on Trump itv.com

One of Britain's leading spy agencies has angrily denied claims – suggested by the White House press secretary – that it helped former president Barack Obama spy on Donald Trump.

In a very rare public statement, a spokesman for GCHQ told ITV News that any suggestion it was involved in spying on Mr Trump "was utterly ridiculous and should be ignored”.

The strongly-worded denial came shortly after Sean Spicer repeated an unsubstantiated and explosive allegation – first made by a Fox News analyst – that Barack Obama used British spies to watch Donald Trump on his behalf to ensure "there were no American fingerprints on it".