GENEVA, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Switzerland will launch a parliamentary probe into the leak of secret information giving details of alleged clandestine CIA prisons in Europe, Swiss Radio International (SRI) reported online on Tuesday.

    Hans Hofmann, who is heading the parliamentary sub-committee investigating how the SonntagsBlick newspaper got hold of the classified documents, said he is determined to plug the leak.

    SonntagsBlick claimed last Sunday to have received a copy of a fax sent by Egypt's foreign ministry to the Egyptian embassy in London confirming the existence of secret prisons in Europe. The fax was intercepted by the Swiss intelligence service in Nov. 2005.

    "This document was clearly not intended to be made public," SRI quoted Hofmann as saying, "We will conduct a very thorough inquiry to determine the source of this leak and will try to make sure that it does not happen again."

    The story is embarrassing for the Swiss government, as it has consistently denied possessing any evidence of U.S. jails for suspected terrorists in Europe.

    Government ministers distanced themselves from the report which said evidence has been available since Nov. 10 last year. Defense Minister Samuel Schmid, who was Swiss president last year, told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that he might consider legal action against the SonntagsBlick. Enditem