"Pegasus: UK has 'no intention' of holding Gulf allies accountable, says MP", 15 Feb 2022

The UK government has "no intention" of holding three Gulf states accused of hacking British citizens' phones accountable, according to a member of parliament...

"The government has absolutely no intention of holding these Gulf states accountable - namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain - who have been misusing cyber technology to target and attack dissidents on British soil," Moran told Middle East Eye.

Around 400 UK mobile telephone numbers were found on a leaked list with 50,000 phone numbers which governments using NSO Group's Pegasus spyware - including the three Gulf states - reportedly identified as potential targets.

They include two members of the House of Lords, heads of British think tanks, leading lawyers, academics, activists, journalists and civil society and faith leaders, all with connections to the Middle East.

...Digital rights advocates have warned that the government's tepid public response to the Pegasus revelations will invite further attacks.

They also said the UK government should cut off the three Gulf allies from the Gulf Strategy Fund, a £53.4m taxpayer-funded programme that MPs have complained is run without transparency or accountability, including whether human rights risk assessments are conducted for the activities involved.

Meanwhile, Amnesty has been pushing the UK to adopt a licensing requirement for companies that want to market intrusion software within the country. Currently, NSO Group can promote its spyware at any UK arms fair without restriction, he said.

[Refers to Israeli headquartered NSO Group and Candiru.]