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divdiv class=story-body readability=30 span class=story-date#13; span class=date8 November 2013/span#13; span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time17:36 ET/span#13; #13; /span#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger is to be questioned by MPs over the newspaper's publication of leaks by ex-US security contractor Edward Snowden./p#13; pMr Rusbridger will give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee next month, a Guardian spokesman confirmed./p#13; pThe Guardian has published information about how British and US spy agencies monitor communications./p#13; pThe decision to publish the leaks was criticised by the leaders of UK security services on Thursday./p#13; pDocuments leaked to the Guardian newspaper by Mr Snowden - who is currently in Moscow where he has sought asylum - revealed that agencies are able to tap into the internet communications of millions of ordinary citizens through GCHQ's Tempora programme./p#13; span class=cross-headServices 'defend freedom'/span#13; pMI6 chief Sir John Sawers warned the Intelligence and Security Committee earlier this week that our adversaries were rubbing their hands with glee, al-Qaeda is lapping it up in the wake of the Snowden revelations, adding: The leaks from Snowden have been very damaging, they've put our operations at risk./p#13; pThe Guardian, though, has defended its decision to publish the information, saying that the paper's coverage of British and US surveillance had prompted necessary debate./p#13; p id=story_continues_2On Friday, a spokesman said: Alan has been invited to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and looks forward to appearing next month./p#13; pMr Sawers, along with the head of MI5 Andrew Parker and GCHQ director Sir Iain Lobban, were questioned by MPs in public after coming under pressure to be more open after the leaks by Mr Snowden revealed widespread spying by GCHQ and the US National Security Agency./p#13; pMr Parker argued that the security services defend, rather than undermine freedom, and pointed to 34 terror plots that had been disrupted by the security services since the terror attacks in London on 7 July 2005./p#13; span class=cross-head'Devastating assessment'/span#13; pNews of Mr Rusbridger's appearance before the committee comes as Conservative MPs Julian Smith and Stephen Phillips called on him to clarify whether he had acted on every security concern raised by government over the news stories./p#13; pThey also asked him to confirm whether anyone at the Guardian had directed, permitted, facilitated or acquiesced in the transfer of the files obtained by Mr Snowden to anyone in the US or elsewhere./p#13; pMr Smith and Mr Phillips said Mr Rusbridger's response to a letter from 28 Tory MPs had failed to acknowledge the devastating assessment of the damage done to the national security of the United Kingdom by the Guardian's reporting of the Snowden leaks, citing the evidence given by the security chiefs./p#13; pThey continued: Secondly, it fails to address the question of whether you have acted on every security concern raised by government and whether the Government has felt that it had adequate time to respond to the matters which you have reported./p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center