Embassy spy who sold secrets to Russians jailed for more than 13 years

A former security guard at the British embassy in Berlin was jailed for more than 13 years after he was caught spying for the Russians.

David Ballantyne Smith, 58, copied secret documents he found in unlocked filing cabinets and on desks, including a letter to the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

He also leaked details of staff involved in defence work, including their home addresses and phone numbers, and copied personal pictures of their relatives that he found on their desks in exchange for cash payments from Russian agents.

Smith pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Official Secrets Act after he was caught in a string operation but claimed he had only intended to expose lax security at the embassy.

But a judge at the Old Bailey ruled he had been motivated by his hatred of the UK and support for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Sentencing him to a jail term of 13 years and two months, Mr Justice Wall told Smith he had collected "a significant amount of material" to "damage British interests" and provided that information to a "hostile power".

"It was your job to ensure the embassy was secure and its staff safe. It was the most obvious breach of the trust placed in you," he said.

The judge's sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-...

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