( CNN ) -- British intelligence has n't broken any laws in sharing data with its American counterparts in counterterrorism efforts , Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday . `` The idea that in GCHQ people ( British intelligence ) are sitting working out how to circumvent a UK law with another agency in another country is fanciful , '' Hague told the BBC , referring to Britain 's communications intelligence agency . `` It is nonsense , and I think that I can give people that assurance . '' GCHQ is the acronym for Government Communications Headquarters , a British intelligence agency . Hague spoke after a week of revelations about the scale of data-gathering by GCHQ 's U.S. counterpart , the National Security Agency . Britain 's the Guardian reported Saturday that GCHQ had access to an American data-mining system known as PRISM , suggesting it could `` circumvent the formal legal process '' required to seek personal data under British law . Hague did n't confirm or deny whether British intelligence received information from the American programs . But the United States and Britain have shared intelligence since World War II , and Hague said British law `` provides for intelligence-gathering that is authorized , necessary , proportionate and targeted -- targeted on what we really need to know . '' NSA leaker comes forward . `` The net effect is that if you are a law-abiding citizen of this country , going about your business and your personal life , you have nothing to fear -- nothing to fear about the British state or intelligence agencies listening to the contents of your phone calls or anything like that , '' he said . `` Indeed , you 'll never be aware of all the things those agencies are doing to stop your identity being stolen and to stop a terrorist blowing you up tomorrow . `` But if you are a would-be terrorist or the center of a criminal network or a foreign intelligence agency trying to spy on Britain , you should be worried , because that is what we work on , '' he continued . `` And we are , on the whole , quite good at it . '' How does it affect me ? Wednesday , the Guardian disclosed a secret order from a U.S. intelligence court that required Verizon Business Network Services to give telephone records detailing the time , location and telephone numbers involved in domestic calls from April 25 to July 19 . Thursday , the Washington Post and the Guardian disclosed the existence of PRISM , reporting that the program allows NSA analysts to extract details of customer activities -- including `` audio and video chats , photographs , e-mails , documents '' and other materials -- from computers at Microsoft , Google , Apple and other Internet firms . In the wake of the revelations , the U.S. government declassified some details of the programs and defended the programs as both legal and valuable to heading off the threat of terrorism . Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Saturday the surveillance programs are `` conducted under authorities widely known and discussed , and fully debated and authorized by Congress . '' `` In a rush to publish , media outlets have not given the full context -- including the extent to which these programs are overseen by all three branches of government , '' Clapper said . Data mining revelation opens political Pandora 's box . U.S. officials said earlier that phone-call data is n't looked at unless investigators sense a tie to terror , and only then on the authority of a judge . Officials say analysts are forbidden from collecting the Internet activity of American citizens or residents , even when they travel overseas . And President Barack Obama tried to reassure Americans about the programs Friday , saying , `` Nobody is listening to your telephone calls . '' Clapper 's office called PRISM `` an internal government computer system used to facilitate the government 's statutorily authorized collection of foreign intelligence information from electronic communication service providers under court supervision . '' It was created in 2008 , targets `` foreign targets located outside the United States '' and gets reviewed by the administration , Congress and judges . `` There is not a target on Americans , '' Rep. Mike Rogers , the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee , told reporters Sunday . `` There has to be a non-U.S. person believed to be on foreign soil . That is a huge difference than what is being portrayed in the media , '' said Rogers , R-Michigan . But Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall , who 's long called for greater transparency in how the government collects data on Americans , said the legal authority should be reopened for debate after last week 's disclosures . Some shrug at snooping : Privacy 's already dead . `` Maybe Americans think this is OK , but I think the line has been drawn too far towards 'We 're going to invade your privacy , ' versus 'We 're going to respect your privacy , ' `` Udall told CNN 's `` State of the Union . '' Udall is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee . He and Sen. Ron Wyden , D-Oregon , have criticized the scope of the classified programs that allow the collection of Americans ' phone records -- but have been limited in what they could say publicly . Udall told CNN that claims that the monitoring has thwarted terrorist attacks are overblown . `` It 's unclear to me we 've developed any intelligence through the metadata program that 's led to the disruption of plots that could have been attained through other means , '' Udall said , pushing back on assertions by both administration officials and Republican Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers that a specific plot was stopped using the massive collection of phone records . Opinion : Where 's the evidence that data mining saves lives ? CNN 's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report .
`` Law-abiding '' Britons have nothing to fear from surveillance , Hague says . U.S. officials defend electronic data collections . `` There is not a target on Americans , '' House intelligence chairman says . Senator says `` the line has been drawn too far '' toward invasion of privacy .