The Spanish government has fired the country's spy chief, Paz Esteban, as it tries to contain the aftermath of a cyber espionage scandal involving the ruling coalition and has raised further questions about the use of controversial Pegasus spyware in Spain and wide.

According to The Guardian, the Telegraph reports, Esteban's dismissal on Tuesday came amid growing political tensions and almost two years after a joint investigation by the Guardian and El Pais initially revealed that senior Catalan pro-independence politicians had been warned that their cell phones were targeted using spyware.

The scandal has intensified in recent weeks after cybersecurity experts at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said at least 63 people linked to the Catalan independence movement had been targeted or affected by Pegasus spyware between 2017 and 2020.

It also turned out that the mobile phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defense Minister Margarita Robles, and Interior Minister Fernanrdo Grande-Marlaska were subjected to "illegal" and "external" targeting, using Pegasus last year.

The Spanish government has not commented on which foreign state may have been responsible.

Last week, Esteban reportedly confirmed to a congressional committee that 18 members of the Catalan independence movement - including current Catalan regional president Pere Aragones - had been spied on with judicial approval by the Spanish National Intelligence Center (CNI).