UK spy agency denies White House claim that it helped 'wiretap' Trump

London [UK], Mar. 17 (ANI): The British intelligence and security agency GCHQ has denied allegation that it helped former U.S. president Barack Obama "wiretap" Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. "Recent allegations made by media commentator judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct 'wiretapping' against the then president-elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored," The Guardian quoted a GCHQ spokesperson as saying in a statement. Earlier this week, Fox News judicial analyst Napolitano claimed during an interview that three intelligence sources confirmed to him that the Obama administration used GCHQ to spy on Trump so that there would be "no American fingerprints on this". Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, quoted Napolitano's allegation in an effort to validate Trump's unfounded claim that Obama wiretapped his phones last year. The British and American intelligence agencies cooperate closely along with their counterparts from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. They are members of the Five Eyes, which work together on intelligence. According to documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the British officials allowed their US counterparts to store and analyse British citizens' internet and e-mail records. Snowden also revealed that the NSA paid £100m to GCHQ in secret, reports the Guardian. Earlier in a series of tweets, President Trump accused Obama of wiretapping his phones. "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump tweeted on March 4. (ANI)