GERMANY is building a new state-of-the-art spy satellite — and there are fears it could turn its gaze on Britain.
Berlin last week approved the funding of a swathe of new spook capabilities as part of a cybersecurity overhaul, with the new satellite forming part of its aggressive espionage network.
But there are worries the technology may be used to shadow top-ranking British officials after it was revealed German spies had targeted Britain's former EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton.
The country's foreign intelligence service BND was granted around £350million to develop the new satellite in collaboration with the German army and the German Aerospace Centre.
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It comes after a deal between Germany and the United States to launch three satellites with HD photo capabilities collapsed in 2010.
Dubbed the "Hiro" project, the satellites were publicly said to be for disaster response purposes.
But now Chancellor Angela Merkel has approved the country's own spy satellite, saying it will raise employment in the defence sector.
In February, German spooks were found to have spied on Labour peer Baroness Ashton during her time as a high representative on foreign affairs and security policy for the EU.
The senstational revelations caused a major rift between London and Berlin just months before Britain voted to leave the European Union.
Along with the satellite a cyber response force will work across German law enforcement agencies to tackle online attacks from Russia and China.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere said: “These cyberattacks pose such a level of threat, in that they specifically target the democratic decision-making process.
"If they are successful, I foresee a danger for peaceful society and for our democracy”.
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