WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - Attorney General William Barr said on Wednesday U.S. intelligence agencies engaged in spying directed at the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and that he would look at whether the surveillance was undertaken legally.

"I think spying did occur," Barr told a Senate hearing. "But the question is whether it was adequately predicated and I am not suggesting that it wasn't adequately predicated. ... I am not suggesting those rules were violated, but I think it is important to look at that. And I am not talking about the FBI necessarily, but intelligence agencies more broadly.

"I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal - it's a big deal." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.