US appeals court asked to halt NSA phone spying programme

Legal spat: Arguments centred on whether the NSA programme may continue operating between now and November.

NEW YORK: A US appeals court appeared reluctant to put an immediate halt to the federal government's collection of millions of Americans' phone records, with the controversial spy programme set to expire in November. 

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York previously found the programme illegal in May, ruling that the Patriot Act did not authorise the National Security Agency to install such sweeping surveillance. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.