As David Cameron shakes up his Cabinet, the German government is growing increasingly wary of being spied upon by the Americans.
Parliamentarians on the country’s spying committee have taken to playing classical music during meetings in order to foil anyone seeking to overhear their discussions.
If any outsiders are listening, they will hear more of Edvard Grieg’s piano concert in A minor than government secrets.
As another precaution, mobile phones and computers have to be put into metal boxes to ensure they could not by monitored.
Patrick Sensburg, head of a parliamentary inquiry investigating US National Security Agency spying in Germany, said MPs were seriously thinking about ending the use of computers and returning to manual typewriters instead.
It has been reported that the Kremlin has already reverted to the use of manual typewriters to prevent eavesdropping.
Mr Sensburg also talked about the use encrypted emails and phone calls for internal communication.
Two German state employees are under arrest on suspicion of providing information to the CIA. One was in the intelligence service while the other was in the defence ministry.
After the arrests, the CIA’s top official in Germany was expelled.
Germany’s spying committee is investigation foreign intelligence agents in the country, initially provoked by the revelation that Angela Merkel’s mobile phone has been bugged by the NSA.
