Last Update: February 18, 2023, 00:04 IST
File photo of the flag of Russia. (Image: Reuters)
David Ballantyne Smith, 58, was caught in a sting operation after passing sensitive material to the Russian embassy in Germany
A former security guard at Britain’s Berlin embassy who admitted spying for Moscow was jailed for more than 13 years on Friday under the Official Secrets Act.
David Ballantyne Smith, 58, was caught in a sting operation after delivering sensitive material to the Russian embassy in Germany.
Announcing the sentence of 13 years and two months at the Old Bailey Court in central London, Judge Mark Wall said: “Russia made you pay for your betrayal.”
He said, “Your motive in helping them (the Russians) was to harm British interests.”
The judge, who had previously dismissed Smith’s claims that he had reported to Moscow only twice to cause Britain “embarrassment”, described his offending as “widespread and serious” and said he showed no real remorse. Shown.
He told Smith that his culpability was “high”, as he had copied “a significant amount of material over the years” and had put embassy staff at risk of harm.
The military veteran, originally from Paisley in the west of Scotland, had worked at the Berlin embassy for five years.
Prosecutors previously said Smith first wrote to the Russian embassy in 2020, revealing details of British embassy staff and suggesting further contacts.
After the UK and German authorities became aware of this, they organized a plot to try to catch Smith in the act.
fake detective
Smith was told that a Russian national named Dmitri – in fact a British agent – wanted to go to the British embassy to deliver sensitive information.
Smith then copied CCTV footage of “Dmitri” inside the embassy and took packaging from a phone SIM card given to him.
Another UK agent later contacted Smith, pretending to be “Irina”, an operative in Russia’s GRU military intelligence service.
In the undercover video, Smith is heard telling him: “I don’t trust the bastards I work for” and “I don’t want to live in Germany. I’m stuck in the land of Nazi bastards”.
He was arrested at his flat shortly thereafter in August 2021 and subsequently extradited to the UK.
Smith told the court this week that he felt “embarrassed” when he betrayed British embassy staff.
He claimed that he only wanted to cause “inconvenience and embarrassment”.
But the court heard that Smith later made several videos of sensitive areas inside the embassy building.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan said Smith filmed the offices in detail showing their exact locations.
He asked her: “Who was directing those videos?”
Smith said: “Nobody,” and claimed he was intoxicated at the time.
The court heard that he denied being paid, but around 800 euros (about $857) in cash was found at his home, which could not be accounted for.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Counter Terrorism Command at London’s Met Police, said Smith had “identified and carried out a carefully planned operation involving our counter-terrorism officers, security services colleagues and German police counterparts And stopped after investigation”.
“This investigation shows how the UK will work with our allies to identify and identify anyone who threatens or undermines our national security,” he said.
Smith is married to a Ukrainian woman, who moved back to her country in 2018.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)