German spies hope new HQ will improve public image

By Kerstin Gehmlich

BERLIN (Reuters) - The microphone crackled and squeaked before going dead when Germany's top spy lay the foundation stone for his agency's headquarters in Berlin.

But communication problems, though ironic, were the least of Ernst Uhrlau's problems as he stood next to a giant sand pile in the centre of the German capital on Wednesday.

His Bundesnachrichtendienst BND.L foreign intelligence agency has come under fire in the last few months and some politicians have called on Uhrlau to resign.

"I'm saying it clearly: I will work for the trust that has been lost in the service -- partly on account of me -- to be restored by solid work and tangible results," Uhrlau told dignitaries in his speech.

"Mistakes can be made. But they must not be repeated."

A few weeks ago, the BND stole the headlines for paying millions of euros to an informant for data on Germans suspected of evading taxes using banks in Liechtenstein. Many Germans said the BND should not have paid an apparent crook.

Last month, Der Spiegel weekly said Uhrlau had apologised to one of its journalists after the agency monitored her emails to an Afghan politician.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that incident had hurt her confidence in the BND's leadership, one politician called for random raids on the BND to check its work and another said the service risked becoming a "state within the state".