COPENHAGEN, November 10, 2010 (AFP) - Danish Justice Minister Lars Barfoed said Wednesday he had asked the country's PET security police to ensure that the US embassy in Copenhagen is not conducting illegal surveillance in the city.

"In the light of the cases in Norway and Sweden, the Ministry of Justice considered it right to make sure no activities take place that are against Danish law," Barfoed said in a statement.

"PET will therefore meet the American embassy in order to make sure that the United States is aware of the judicial frames that apply to surveillance and protection of the embassy," he added.

The minister's comments came after a week of revelations across the Nordic region of US embassy surveillance programmes that for the past decade have kept tabs on happenings around the mission buildings, but also reportedly extend to monitoring demonstrations and storing personal information about protestors.

Washington has acknowledged conducting surveillance through its embassies, but has insisted the programme is aimed solely at protecting its missions against attack and is carried out within the laws of the host countries.

Authorities in Norway and Sweden however insist they were never informed of the programme and are investigating if the US embassies violated national laws.

Finland's top data protection official also said Wednesday he had asked the Supo security police to clarify whether the US embassy in Helsinki violated privacy laws during what it claims was routine surveillance.

Barfoed himself stressed Wednesday "I have no knowledge at all about illegal activities conducted by the USA via its embassy."