A London court docket has sentenced David Ballantyne Smith to greater than 13 years in jail for placing UK diplomats at “maximum risk” by means of promoting secret data to Russia.
Smith labored on the British embassy in Berlin as a safety guard and used to be arrested at his house close to Berlin in August 2021.
UK intelligence officials crafted a sting operation to catch Smith red-handed. It incorporated undercover operatives posing as a Russian defector and a Russian undercover agent. He used to be then extradited to the United Kingdom in April 2022.
Smith admitted spying however claimed he used to be pushed by means of despair and a need to “teach the embassy a lesson” as a result of he felt badly handled at paintings.
But Judge Mark Wall stated Smith used to be motivated by means of hatred of the United Kingdom and improve for Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
“He was paid for his treachery, and he was motivated by his antipathy towards this country and intended to damage this country’s interests by acting as he did”, Wall stated.
Smith, 58, gave the Russian Embassy within the German capital details about the actions, identities, addresses and get in touch with numbers of British officers, prosecutors stated.
He additionally amassed intelligence at the operation and structure of the British Embassy, which prosecutors stated could be helpful to “an enemy, namely the Russian state.”
The pass judgement on stated Smith despatched the Russians pictures of UK embassy personnel with annotated descriptions that put them at “maximum risk”.
