Parliament's powerful intelligence committee has come out in defence of the state intelligence agencies, which are refusing to co-operate with the Hefer spy probe.

The Hefer Commission of Inquiry is investigating allegations that the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, was a spy for the apartheid regime.

Former transport minister Mac Maharaj and foreign affairs adviser Mo Shaik, a former member of ANC intelligence, have supported the allegation since it was first made public in City Press.

Parliament's joint standing committee on intelligence has taken a swipe at Maharaj and Shaik, saying it was the accusers' prerogative to prove their allegations against Ngcuka.

It said although it welcomed the appointment of the Hefer Commission, it was alarmed by retired judge Justice Joos Hefer's decision to compel the intelligence agencies to hand over secret documents.

"The committee views with alarm and serious concern the issuing of subpoenas by the Hefer Commission to South Africa's Intelligence and Security Services compelling them to provide classified and/or sensitive information that will purportedly serve the commission's purpose," committee chairman Siyabonga Cwele said in statement yesterday.

The committee, which had met on Wednesday, emphasised that ignoring the laws on national security to satisfy the objectives of the Hefer Commission would have "serious consequences" for South Africa, at home and abroad.

"It is a universally accepted principle that information in the possession of the intelligence services (may) not be made public. This includes, especially, the names of sources, agents, operatives and identities of members," the committee said.

It supported the positions the intelligence services had taken before the commission.

"We believe that the Intelligence and Security Services should not be embroiled in this matter," the committee said.

"(We also believe) those who have brought the matter into the public domain should provide the basis for their allegations to be tested by the commission without causing databases and files of the Intelligence and Security Services to be inspected at great risk to the constitutional mandate of these structures."

Ngcuka had "always contended that it is the responsibility of Mo Shaik and Mac Maharaj to supply documents that prove their allegation", his spokesman, Sipho Ngwema, said.

If a government agency had information about Ngcuka's alleged spying activities, the cabinet would not have appointed a judicial commission.

"All these intelligence agencies report to cabinet ministers, so if there was such information (proving that Ngcuka was a spy), the ministers would have provided that information to the cabinet," Ngwema said.

"It's only because the government doesn't have that information that it established the commission.

"Why would we spend millions of rand on a commission if that information was readily available to the government?"

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Michaels and the Cape Times.