UK intelligence chiefs to be questioned by MPs

The heads of the UK's spying agencies are to face a televised grilling by MPs.

GCHQ director Sir Iain Lobban, MI5 director general Andrew Parker and MI6 chief Sir John Sawers will be quizzed by the Intelligence and Security Committee in public at 14:00 GMT. According to a BBC report.

There have been also been reports of a time delay of the live pictures to stop any security leaks.

Intelligence chiefs have given evidence in private for many years.

The questioning follows leaks by ex-US security contractor Edward Snowden which raised concerns about spying.

Documents leaked to the Guardian newspaper by Mr Snowden - who is currently in Moscow where he has sought sanctuary from the US - revealed that agencies are able to tap into the internet communications of millions of ordinary citizens through GCHQ's Tempora programme.

Leaks also suggested its American counterpart, the National Security Agency, had bugged the phone calls of several world leaders.