German SPD leader: Hard to imagine free trade deal if US spying

The leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), Sigmar Gabriel, said on Thursday it would be hard to imagine agreeing a free trade deal with the United States if the US was infringing citizen's rights and privacy.

Gabriel was reacting to information received by Berlin that the United States may have tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, and which has triggered outrage in Germany. The SPD and Merkel's conservatives are currently engaged in talks on building a new coalition government. (Reuters)