There is already a legal agreement between the US and UK governments - the Data Access Agreement - which allows both countries to share data for law enforcement purposes. The US director of national intelligence says the UK has withdrawn its controversial demand to access global Apple users' data if required.

Apple CEO Tim Cook kept his August winning streak alive as the US backed Apple against the UK in an encrypted user data dispute.

Tulsi Gabbard said in a post on X the UK had agreed to drop its instruction for the tech giant to provide a "back door" which would have "enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties".

After the UK ordered Apple to offer a backdoor, security experts raised concerns that such a feature could lead to hackers exploiting it.