Britain made us destroy data given by Snowden: Guardian

Later,two security experts from the secretive Government Communications Headquarters GCHQ had visited the papers London offices and watched as computer hard drives containing Snowden material were reduced to mangled bits of metal.

Asked by the BBC who he thought was behind those events,Rusbridger said he had got the sense there was an active conversation involving government departments,intelligence agencies and the Prime Ministers Downing Street office.

Downing Street and GCHQ declined to comment.

Rusbridger said the destruction of the computer material was pointless as there were other copies of what was lost,and it would not stop the Guardian from pursuing Snowden stories.

We will continue to do patient,painstaking reporting on the Snowden documents. We just wont do it in London, he said.

A British source with knowledge of the security services said GCHQ had no powers to seize material from the Guardian,but could have accused the paper of possessing stolen materials and demanded they be destroyed.

Rusbridger said the bizarre episode and the detention at Londons Heathrow airport on Sunday of the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald showed press freedom was under threat in Britain.

The nine-hour detention under an anti-terrorism law of David Miranda,Greenwalds Brazilian partner,has caused a furore with Brazil,British opposition politicians,human rights lawyers and press freedom watchdogs among those denouncing it.

Greenwald was the first journalist to publish US and British intelligence secrets leaked by Snowden who is wanted in the United States and has found temporary asylum in Russia.