Spanish officials said Monday that the cellphones of the prime minister and the defence minister were infected last year with Pegasus spyware that is only available to government agencies in an operation that wasn't authorised by the government.

Prime Minister Pedro S nchez's mobile phone was breached twice in May 2021, and Defence Minister Margarita Robles' device was targeted once the following month, Presidency Minister F lix Bola os said in a hastily convened news conference.

He said the breaches resulted in a significant amount of data being obtained, and that reports detailing the breaches have been transferred to Spain's National Court for further investigation.

We have no doubt that this is an illicit, unauthorized intervention, Bola os said. It comes from outside state organisms and it didn't have judicial authorisation.

Spain's government is under pressure to explain why the cellphones of dozens of people connected to the separatist movement in the northeastern Catalonia region were infected with Pegasus between 2017 and 2020, according to cybersecurity experts' group Citizen Lab.

PTI