GCHQ hiring bar is upheld

A former soldier who served in Northern Ireland was told "reasons of national security" prevented him from challenging a ban on the children of foreigners being considered for jobs at GCHQ, the intelligence centre.

Luigi Manelfi, 34, who was born in Britain, wanted a High Court ruling that the rule was "irrational, wholly unreasonable and unlawful". Mr Justice Jowitt ruled his challenge was "non justifiable" as it raised questions of national security.

Mr Manelfi, of Merton Park, south-west London, whose mother is German and father is Italian, was backed by the human rights pressure group Liberty.