A spokesperson for the British government said on Tuesday that while they would not comment on any agreement, Britain had long worked with the U.S. to tackle security threats while seeking to protect...

"If true, this decision is hugely welcome," said Sam Grant from civil rights group Liberty, which along with Privacy International previously launched separate legal action against the UK government.

Governments and law enforcement agencies have long pushed for methods to break such encryption systems to assist with criminal investigations into terrorism and child sexual abuse.