As UK officials continue to justify the destruction of Guardian hard drives containing information leaked by Edward Snowden, the state's deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has stepped up to say that he endorsed the action. According to the Guardian, a spokesperson for Clegg revealed that he and Prime Minister David Cameron had given authority for the action to be carried out. The spokesperson reportedly said that, alongside Cameron, Clegg "thought it was reasonable" to destroy the hard drives because they "would represent a serious threat to national security if [they were] to fall into the wrong hands."

Because the Guardian also stored the sensitive information in other locations, the paper should be able to continue publishing details from the leaks. But the Guardian reports that some members of parliament are now more concerned about the government's actions than the potential security risk: "Up until now the UK government has downplayed its interest in these matters," Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs committee, reportedly said in a statement. Vaz's committee performs inquiries into the UK's primary counter-terrorism agency, and he's demanding that Cameron explain what happened. "We need to know the full facts, nothing less will do."