Spain’s spy chief sacked after Pegasus spyware revelations

Paz Esteban reportedly loses job after Catalan independence figures were said to have been targeted

The Spanish government has sacked the country's spy chief, Paz Esteban, as it tries to contain the fallout from a cyber-espionage scandal that has engulfed the ruling coalition and raised further questions about the use of controversial Pegasus spyware in Spain and beyond.

Esteban's dismissal on Tuesday came amid growing political tensions and almost two years after a joint investigation by the Guardian and El Pais first revealed that senior pro-independence Catalan politicians were warned their mobile phones had been targeted using the spyware.