BBC Democracy Live - UK citizens have 'no protection' from US surveillance, MP claims Conservative MP David Davies was among MPs to express concern at allegations about GCHQ gaining information on UK citizens through data surveillance. America's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act "distinguishes between American citizens, who receive rigorous protection of their privacy, and all other foreigners including British citizens, who receive essentially no protection," Mr Davies asserted. His comments came following a statement by Foreign Secretary William Hague on 10 July 2013, regarding claims that US intelligence agencies have gathered and shared phone records and internet data with allies. Mr Hague replied to Mr Davies: "All of the acts that we have passed in this Parliament relating to the gathering of intelligence are applied to data supplied from other countries." Earlier, Mr Hague told MPs that any gathering of surveillance data is achieved through "difficult and finely judged decisions." On the idea that GCHQ had circumvented the law in order to access data, he said he was "absolutely clear that this accusation is baseless" and that "our agencies practice and uphold UK law at all times." Responding for Labour, shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander paid tribute to the work of intelligence agency personnel and specified that his questions were "in the spirit not of condemnation but concern." Mr Alexander argued the foreign secretary's stance "assumes the state is either incapable of error or incapable of advertent or inadvertent wrongdoing" and that ministers and the Intelligence and Security Committee "now have a heavy burden to oversee and scrutinise their work so as to reassure the public." Former foreign secretary Jack Straw defended the position adopted by the government, saying that other countries were "astonished by the degree of control and supervision" undergone by the UK's intelligence agencies. Lib Dem Martin Horwood, comparing GCHQ to the wartime code-breaking centre Bletchley Park, said it carried out "equally vital but equally secret work" and MPs ought to exercise "self-restraint" instead of seeking more answers about its work. But those raising fears about the protection of British citizens' privacy included former home secretary David Blunkett, who invited the government to "take a closer look" at whether internet service providers were "offering" users' data rather than waiting for requests. "Yes, we do need to dampen down fear, yes we do need to reinforce the fact that we are engaged in international cyber attack and the dangers that come from international global terrorism," Mr Hague replied. Mr Hague also maintained that there was still "a very strong case" for introducing a framework for a communications data bill. The bill - decried as a "snooper's charter" by critics - was dropped from the recent Queen's Speech in the face of Liberal Democrat opposition led by Nick Clegg.