Germany’s domestic spy chief gets a promotion

IT WAS supposed to be a face-saving measure to stop the coalition government collapsing. Instead there is outrage. Hans-Georg Maassen (pictured) was removed from his role as Germany’s head of domestic intelligence this week over allegations that he had downplayed right-wing extremist violence. But rather than being sacked, he has been given a pay rise and a promotion.

Mr Maassen sparked a national row when he called into question a video showing foreign-looking people being chased by a mob after the killing of a German man, allegedly by asylum-seekers, in the eastern German city of Chemnitz. The spy chief suggested the video might be fake, hinting at media manipulation to distract from the Chemnitz killing. He said there was no information about xenophobic assaults, despite reliable eyewitness reports and police investigations into such cases.