A British security guard who spied for Russia at the country’s Embassy in Berlin in exchange for money was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison on Friday.
(Bloomberg) — A British security guard who spied for Russia at the country’s Embassy in Berlin in exchange for money was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison on Friday.
David Smith, 58, who collected a range of highly sensitive information from and about the embassy with the intention of supplying it to Russia, pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of the UK’s Official Secrets Act. He was “motivated by his antipathy toward this country,” Judge Mark Wall said in a judgment.
“You were paid by Russia for your treachery,” Wall said during the sentencing. “I am sure that you committed these crimes intending to assist Russia, a state which at that time, as now, was regarded as unfriendly to the UK. Your motive in assisting them was to damage British interests.”
The judge said that Smith’s actions cost the British taxpayer £820,000 ($980,230) after it had to overhaul procedures and security in the aftermath.
Earlier this week, the judge ruled that he was paid for his actions — which Smith had disputed. The judge found that he had a relationship with someone at the Russian Embassy and that he was “paid for his treachery,” according to the ruling which dealt with conflicting evidence.
Smith had been collecting sensitive information including an image of a secret report from the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and videos recording the entirety of the Embassy. He also passed on details to a man named General Major Chukhrov, a military worker at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
Smith shared degrading views about the UK and Germany to colleagues. During evidence, he made derogatory comments about the UK and its “skulduggery” in international affairs. At one stage he openly supported the Russian-backed forces in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
The maximum sentence for breaching UK espionage laws is 14 years imprisonment. Simon Finch, an ex-defense worker, was ultimately jailed for eight years in 2021 for breaking the Official Secrets Act after he disclosed secrets of UK missile system.
“Smith exploited his privileged position at the British Embassy in Berlin,” Richard Smith, head of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, said. “His activities put those working at the Embassy and the security of the wider UK at significant risk.”
(Updates with Met statement in the last paragraph)
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