Alan Rusbridger says 'we love Britain' as he defends Snowden leaks Debate rages about dangers of Edward Snowden leaking US secrets MI6 said terror groups in Afghanistan and 'closer to home' are using leaks But Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger tells MPs only 1% of files published Insists the left-wing newspaper's staff are 'patriots' who 'loved this country' Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger today insisted he "loves" Britain as he faced accusations that he broke the law in handling leaked documents which spy agencies warn was a gift to terrorists. He claimed only one per cent of intelligence files leaked by US whistleblower Edward Snowden have been published by his newspaper. But in a heated evidence session, Mr Rusbridger insisted he and his colleagues at The Guardian were "patriots" after he was asked by Committee chairman Keith Vaz MP if he "loved this country." Editor of The Guardian newspaper Alan Rusbridger was called to give evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on why he published files leaked by Edward Snowden Mr Rusbridger was called before the Home Affairs Select Committee over the publication of documents taken by Snowden, a former contractor with the National Security Agency. Snowden handed 58,000 files to four places - The Guardian, Washington Post, a location in Rio de Janeiro and a location in Germany. Last month Sir John Sawers, the directer general of MI6, told MPs: "The leaks from Snowden have been very damaging, they put our operations at risk. It is clear our adversaries are rubbing their hands with glee. Al Qaeda is lapping it up. But Mr Rusbridger brushed the criticism aside, insisting just a fraction of the files had been made public. Tory MP Michael Ellis put it to Mr Rusbridger that the sexual orientation of GCHQ staff and family outings to Disneyland in Paris had been revealed, and that this was 'jeopardising' the individuals involved. He also suggested to Mr Rusbridger that when he communicated the NSA files, which contained names of intelligence officers, he committed a criminal offence. Mr Rusbridge repled: 'You may be a lawyer, Mr Ellis, I'm not, so I will leave that with you.' Contractor Edward Snowden took 58,000 files from the National Security Agency in the US and handed them to The Guardian Asked by Mr Vaz if one per cent of the files had been published, the editor replied: "That's approximately correct. We continue to publish stuff, it's about one per cent of what we were given. Asked where the remaining files were, he said: "This is an ongoing story we are writing. If you think it's sensible I talk about where the exact files are I can write to you. But I'm not sure that's really sensible to talk about the existence of other files in other bits of the world. Mr Rusbridger said there is one file The Guardian jointly holds with the New York Times, which is in New York. He said the files were distributed across four continents to different organisations, and added: "That's the hand of cards we were all dealt - The Guardian, security services and governments." Mr Vaz asked if the remaining 99% of files not published were in a secure place. The editor replied: "I believe that to be true." Mr Rusbridger said 850,000 people worldwide had access to the same files Mr Snowden decided to leak. The editor said even GCHQ was "aghast" that Mr Snowden, a 29-year-old Hawaiian, not directly employed by the US Government had access to the files. Critics, including the heads of GCHQ, MI5 and MI6, have claimed his decision to publish has aided terrorists, while others believe the move may be illegal. Earlier this year, MI5 director general Andrew Parker warned in a speech that revealing details about the work of GCHQ was a "gift to terrorists." Spy bosses (left to right) Andrew Parker, the head of M15, Sir John Sawers, the head of M16 and Sir Iain Lobban, GCHQ director, told MPS the Snowden leaks were being 'lapped up' by Al Qaeda But Mr Rusbridger quoted back officials who believed no damage had been done by the publication of the information - including a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a senior administration official within the Obama administration, a Whitehall official. Asked by Mr Vaz if he loved "this country," he replied: "There are countries and they are not generally democracies where the press are not free to write about this and where the security services do tell editors what to write. That's not the country we live in, in Britain, and it's one of the things we love about the country.