Who are "the locals" in the United Nations building? Surely the USA would count as "the neighbours". Or in this context, the nosy neighbours. In fact I'd think it'd be quite likely that the Americans would have got the British to do the job. After all, remember Watergate. Illegal activities have a nasty way of leaking out.

In any case, I can't see any distinction between doing the spying yourself, or getting a mate to do it for you (any more than between doing the torturing yourself, or handing the prisoners over to some obliging ally, which also appears to be current practice.)

Of course if the suggestion is that the UK only has those transcripts because they have been spying on the USA, who did the actual bugging, perhaps that would put a different complexion on things. But I can't say that seems too likely.

Do you have to be surprised to find something shocking? In that case, nothing that any government gets up to is ever shocking.

My reaction here isn't either surprise or shock. I'm afraid it's fairly punitive. I want to see the people responsible for criminal activity of this sort standing in the dock somewhere, in front of an independent tribunal which is not under their control.

But if that were ever to happen, that really would surprise me.