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Greek politicians have voted for a parliamentary probe into the country’s secret service over wiretapping the phone of opposition leaders.
The scandal has plunged the center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis into a political storm. Mr Mitsotakis denied any prior knowledge of the surveillance, which he said was false, and promised a full inspection of Greece’s main intelligence agency, the EYP.
On Monday, 142 MPs voted for the parliamentary inquiry, easily surpassing the required 120-vote threshold.
The committee – which will have a majority of government lawmakers – will have at least a month to investigate.
The committee will also examine allegations that the phones of KKE officials were wiretapped in 2016 by the previous leftist government.
The current scandal comes three months after MEP and leader of Greece’s third-largest political party, Nikos Andryrakis, was spied on for three months while running for the leader of the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Party last year. A financial reporter was also under surveillance.
Mr Mitsotakis, who faces re-election next year, insisted he was unaware of what he called the legitimate wiretapping of Mr Andrew Lakis, but said he would not have approved the move if he had known.
He did not reveal why Andrew Lakis was being watched, citing national security concerns.
The head of the EYP and a close aide to Mr Mitsotakis has resigned over the scandal.
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