As I understand it, UK and USA spying are part of a well-connected system also including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. I'm not sure there are relevant distinctions to be made here in terms of spying.
k-mcgrady wasn't making distinctions about spying, he was making distinctions about who decided to detain someone in a British airport - the fact that the UK has been affected by the NSA leaks means they have as much motivation here as the US does.
