German Defense Chief Under Pressure To Step Down Over Drone Project

Accused of withholding information

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere came under renewed pressure to step down after the cancellation of a spy-drone project, as lawmakers quizzed him over a report his ministry withheld information from parliament.

De Maiziere appeared for a second time in front of the lower house's defense committee in Berlin today, fielding questions after Der Spiegel magazine said in this week's edition that theDefense Ministry failed to answer specific queries from legislators about the risk of cost overruns for the Euro Hawk.