Ministers "misled parliament" over purchase of Israeli wiretaps

MPs have accused the government of misleading parliament over its purchase of a police wiretapping system from a controversial defence contractor based in Israel. Justice minister David van Weel said senior police commanders were “very positive” about the “highly promising” new system and it could be ready to go live in the first half of next year. Michel van Nispel of the socialist party said the justice ministry had misled parliament by describing the new system as an “upgrade”, but Van Weel insisted it was a continuation of the system purchased in 2019. “We have taken steps to deal with the risks where Israeli technicians are needed for the old system,” Van Weel said. “They cannot access the intercepted information.” Lilian Helder, justice spokeswoman for the farmers’ party BBB, said she had heard from police personnel whose view of the new system “deviated a great deal” from Van Weel’s assessment, while Jesse Six Dijkstra of NSC said he doubted if “all the hurdles will be overcome in time”.