Source alleges U.S. surveillance on Blair

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. intelligence community gathered surveillance data on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair while he was in office, a whistleblower alleges.

Former communications intercept operator David Murfee Faulk said while he was working at a U.S. National Security Agency site between 2003 and 2007 he learned that the United States was allegedly keeping tabs on Blair and Iraq's first interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer, ABC News reported Monday.

The alleged surveillance took place despite both leaders being vital allies in the United States' fight against the al-Qaida militant group, Faulk said.

Faulk alleged the information he learned while serving as an Army Arab linguist at Fort Gordon, Ga., was all of a personal nature. He refused to offer specific details regarding such data, ABC News said.

An unidentified Blair spokesman told the news group the former prime minister had no comment regarding the surveillance allegations.

Anonymous U.S. intelligence officers said while such intelligence-gathering efforts are not illegal, Britain and the United States have vowed not to use surveillance on one another.