BAE, Britain’s biggest arms company, secretly sold mass surveillance technology to six Middle Eastern governments that have been criticised for repressing their citizens, the BBC has reported. The sophisticated technology can be used to spy on a huge number of people’s emails and mobile phones, triggering accusations from human rights campaigners that it is being used to silence or jail dissidents. According to documents obtained by the BBC, the equipment has been sold in recent years to the governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Algeria and Morocco. The documents also reveal official concerns that the export of the technology could backfire and imperil the security of Britain and its allies, the BBC said. BAE said it was unable to comment on specific contracts “due to the strict national security and confidentiality regulations we operate under”. The manufacturer disputed some of the BBC’s claims without specifying which ones. It added that it was committed to “operating ethically and responsibly”...