UK Government Reportedly Threatened To Shut The Guardian Down Over Snowden Stories

"The British government threatened to shut down the Guardian newspaper for its publishing of the confidential NSA surveillance documents provided by Edward Snowden, its deputy editor saidat a conference in Dublin on Wednesday.

The newspaper was responsible for breaking the news of the NSA's massive phone and Internet data collection. Deputy editor Paul Johnson told the Radiodays Europe conference in Dublin that the paper was consequently almost forced to shut down.

“We were threatened that we would be closed down," he said. "We were accused of endangering national security and people’s lives. It left us in a very difficult position,”