UPDATE - UK denies helping Obama spy on Trump

ADDS WHITE HOUSE COMMENTS

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The claims that the U.K. helped former U.S. President Barack Obama wiretap Donald Trump during the 2016 election are "utterly ridiculous", British intelligence officials said Friday.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) responded to the White House claims, which were repeated by Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday, after being first mentioned on Fox TV earlier on Tuesday.

"Recent allegations made by media commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct ‘wiretapping’ against the then president-elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored," it said in a statement.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer quoted Napolitano in his daily press briefing on Thursday, repeating the judge's claim that Obama had used British spies to listen in on Trump's phone conversations.

"Last, on Fox News on March 14, Judge Andrew Napolitano made the following statement — quote — Three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command.

"He didn't use the NSA, he didn't use the CIA, he didn't use the FBI and he didn't use the Department of Justice. He used GCHQ. What is that? It’s the initials for the British intelligence spying agency," Spicer said.

The White House sought to walk back Spicer's use of the Fox News report, saying he was "simply pointing to public reports, not endorsing any specific story".

The executive mansion did acknowledge that Trump's national security advisor, Gen. H. R. McMaster and Spicer spoke with British officials about the matter, but did not confirm the apology they reportedly conveyed.

Trump had brought up the wiretapping claim early in March when he tweeted – Trump’s preferred way of releasing statements – "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"

* Anadolu Agency Washington Correspondent Michael Hernandez contributed to this report