Cable & Wireless helped Britain spy on millions of Internet users worldwide.

A Channel 4 documentary quoted secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden which showed how Cable & Wireless, which was bought by Vodafone in 2012, provided British spies with traffic from rival foreign communications companies.

Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency were given access by renting space on one of the arteries of global communications, a cable that runs to the southern English region of Cornwall.

Vodafone insists that when it examined the history of Cable & Wireless compliance and found no evidence that would substantiate the allegations.

"We have found no indication whatsoever of unlawful activity within Vodafone or Cable & Wireless and we do not recognize any of the UK intelligence agency programs identified," it said in a statement. "Furthermore, Vodafone does not own or operate the cables referred to."