Spy at UK's Berlin embassy jailed for selling secrets to Russia

A spy astatine Berlin's British embassy, who sold secrets to Russia and was caught successful an undercover MI5 sting, has been jailed for 13 years and 2 months.

David Smith, 58, tried to harm Britain's interests by passing connected details of the embassy and its unit for currency payments, a justice recovered aft the spy pleaded guilty.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Wall said Smith had "put radical astatine maximum risk".

UK constabulary person described Smith's actions arsenic "reckless and dangerous".

They person revealed however the spy was caught successful a "remarkable" probe involving 2 fake Russian agents moving for the British information services.

Smith, formerly with the RAF, had been employed arsenic a information defender astatine the embassy successful Berlin for 4 years when, successful 2020, helium wrote to a Russian wide passing connected the names, addresses and telephone numbers of colleagues, on with documents and accusation astir information passes.

He had been collecting classified documents since 2018, motivated by his enactment for Russian President Vladimir Putin and hatred of the UK, the justice found.

The missive ended up successful the hands of the Metropolitan Police and MI5, triggering a large probe which besides progressive German instrumentality enforcement.

In August 2021, to stitchery further evidence, Smith was told a antheral with the Russian sanction Dmitry was to sojourn the embassy, and helium was asked to put for him to walk done security.

"Oh it's 1 of those," Smith reportedly responded. He seemed to judge Dmitry was a Russian "walk-in", intent connected passing secrets to Britain.

In his sentencing remarks, the justice said Smith had done arsenic overmuch arsenic helium could to "ensure that Dmitry's individuality could beryllium revealed".

Had Dmitry's communicative been genuine "it is intolerable to cognize what would person been the consequences to him", the justice said.

During the visit, Smith was told to transcript seemingly concealed documents Dmitry had brought with him. These had been marked with a pinkish highlighter to place them.

Dmitry besides asked Smith to propulsion distant immoderate packaging from a mobile telephone Sim paper helium had been given.

It was each a ruse. Dimitry was an MI5-trained "role player" and "Smith fell for it", Cdr Richard Smith of the Metropolitan Police told the BBC.

The documents with the pinkish markings, which were not remotely secret, were aboriginal recovered astatine Smith's home, on with the Sim paper packaging.

Investigators had besides placed a covert camera successful the country wherever Smith worked, monitoring CCTV images.

This captured him looking done video of Dmitry's visit, and taking pictures of the fake visitor.

He could beryllium heard muttering to himself that if Dmitry worked astatine the Russian embassy, unit determination would cognize who helium was.

"It's astir apt thing but astatine slightest I've done it," helium was recorded arsenic saying.

Next, MI5 arranged for "Irina", different Russian speaker, to attack Smith astatine a tram halt posing arsenic an serviceman of the GRU, Russian subject intelligence.

Her story, besides false, was that she had been sent from Moscow to inquire him for assistance due to the fact that idiosyncratic was passing accusation to the British.

Again, Smith fell for it, arranging a gathering with Irina the pursuing day.

After his arrest, his level successful Potsdam was searched, and among the items recovered was a portion of insubstantial with the email code of the Russian embassy.

Video was seized of Smith walking astir the British embassy, meticulously filming offices, safes, the insides of drawers and a whiteboard signaling details of unit deployments.

Smith had besides photographed communications equipment.

A missive to a Russian colonel offering to nonstop a "book from the defence section" classified arsenic "official-sensitive" was recovered connected a retention device.

Police besides recovered images of a missive from 2 secretaries of authorities to past Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Cdr Smith said: "The activities helium was conducting and the accusation helium was seeking to summation did rise a important hazard to UK interests and individuals."

A consular authoritative said that arsenic a effect of Smith's actions, a information reappraisal had to beryllium carried retired for each subordinate of embassy unit costing the payer £825,000.

Smith admitted 8 charges nether the Official Secrets Act and was sentenced aft a proceeding to find wherefore helium did it.

The spy was a keen subject historian, whose Ukrainian woman had near Germany for her location country, due to the fact that she did not similar surviving there. Smith appeared to stock this view, colleagues astatine the embassy told police. He had besides told fake Russian quality serviceman Irina that Germany was dominated by Nazis.

In his evidence, Smith said helium became depressed and was drinking heavy aft his woman returned to Ukraine.

He was besides aggravated astatine his employer, complaining helium had to spell to enactment each time during the pandemic erstwhile "everyone was sitting astatine location with afloat pay".

He admitted being funny successful conspiracy theories, including those of David Icke and Alex Jones' Infowars, but denied being pro-Russian oregon having acold close sympathies.

However, the prosecution highlighted his postulation of Russian subject memorabilia, arsenic good arsenic his past enactment for Russian-backed separatists successful eastbound Ukraine.

Inside his enactment locker was a cartoon of Mr Putin with his hands astir the cervix of erstwhile German chancellor Angela Merkel successful Nazi uniform.

Cdr Smith said the spy was "motivated by anti-UK, pro-Russian views, helium understood that the info helium was collecting was damaging to British interests, and yet helium shared it with the Russians anyway".

An MI5 serviceman gave grounds that Smith's spying coincided with the build-up of Russian forces earlier the warfare successful Ukraine and the concerns astir the attraction of the Russian absorption leader, Alexei Navalny.

The resulting risks could not "be sensibly described arsenic theoretical", the MI5 staffer told the court, utilizing the codification sanction 2093.

Smith was arrested with 800 euros (£713) successful cash, and constabulary analysed his slope accounts which showed helium was not withdrawing his salary, suggesting had different root of income. The magnitude of wealth helium was paid whitethorn ne'er beryllium known.

Senior constabulary officers would not accidental however overmuch accusation Russia could person received from the spy.