FORMER Danish defence minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen has been charged with divulging state secrets, he confirmed on Friday.

Mr Frederiksen denied the charges, insisting that he would never do anything to harm Denmark.

“I can confirm that I am charged under section 109 of the criminal code for having violated the limits of my freedom of expression,” he said in a statement issued through his liberal Venstre party.

Local media reported that Mr Frederiksen had previously appeared to confirm collaboration between Danish and US spooks in spying on senior European officials, including former German chancellor Angela Merkel, between 2012 and 2014.

In a 2020 interview, he warned that Danish citizens could also become caught up in the secret wire-tapping deal.

The spying mission, reportedly codenamed Operation Dunhammer, allowed the US National Security Agency (NSA) to obtain the telephone numbers of politicians, who were allegedly then snooped on.

According to reports, a string of politicians from Germany, France, Sweden and Norway had their text messages and phone calls intercepted by spooks.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden alleged that US President Joe Biden was “deeply involved in this scandal the first time around.”

He first exposed US spying on European politicians in 2013, when Mr Biden was vice-president.

The NSA denies that it spied on Ms Merkel.

“There should be an explicit requirement for full public disclosure not only from Denmark but their senior partner as well,” Mr Snowden has previously said.

Last week, it emerged that former Danish foreign intelligence chief Lars Findsen has been held for more than a month on similar charges.

Mr Frederiksen faces up to 12 years in prison if found guilty of disclosing details of “secret negotiations, deliberations or resolutions,” which amounts to treason under Danish law.