Spain sacks spy chief over phone hacking charge

Barcelona, May 10

Spain’s government fired the director of the country’s top intelligence agency on Tuesday following the hacking of politicians’ cellphones, including the devices of the prime minister and several supporters of the Catalonia region’s secession.

The National Intelligence Center, or CNI, has been under fire for its role in spying on Catalan separatists and for taking a full year to discover that the handsets of the Prime Minister and leading defence and security officials were infiltrated, possibly by a foreign power. Defense Minister Margarita Robles, who was among the hacking targets, announced after Cabinet meeting that Paz Esteban would be relieved as CNI director. — AP