The German government has cancelled a Cold War-era surveillance pact with the United States and Britain following concerns about their alleged electronic eavesdropping in Germany.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said today that ending the agreement was "a necessary and proper consequence of the recent debate about protecting personal privacy".

A government official says the move is largely symbolic and has no practical consequences for intelligence co-operation.

The late 1960s agreement allowed the US and Britain to ask the Germans to conduct surveillance operations within Germany to protect foreign troops stationed here.

Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue of alleged National Security Agency spying with President Barack Obama when he visited Berlin in June.