Guardian says Britain forced it to destroy Snowden material

WASHINGTON/RIO DE JANEIRO: The Guardian, a major outlet for revelations based on leaks from former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, says the British government threatened legal action against the newspaper unless it either destroyed the classified documents or handed them back to British authorities. 

In an article posted on the British newspaper's website on Monday, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said that a month ago, after the newspaper had published several stories based on Snowden's material, a British official advised him: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back."