MADRID (BLOOMBERG) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's phone was broken into last year with software and data was stolen from the device.

The breach occurred between May and June of 2021 using the Pegasus spying software, Mr Felix Bolanos, the secretary of state for the PM's office, said in a press conference on Monday (May 2).

The phone of Defence Minister Margarita Robles was also breached, Mr Bolanos said.

The Pegasus software is developed by an Israeli firm and is used by governments and intelligence agencies in several countries.

The software has drawn widespread attention in Spain in recent weeks following media reports that it was widely used between 2017 and 2020 by the government to spy on Catalan secessionist leaders and activists.