London
CNN
—
A former safety guard on the British embassy in Berlin was once sentenced to greater than 13 years in jail on the Old Bailey in London on Friday after being stuck spying for Russia.
Judge Mark Wall mentioned 58-year-old David Ballantyne Smith had amassed knowledge from the British embassy “by stealth” between 2018 and 2021, a few of which was once obviously marked as “secret.” He then offered the tips to Russia as a part of an “ongoing” dating.
“I am sure that you committed these crimes intending to assist Russia… Your motive in assisting them was to damage British interests,” the pass judgement on mentioned, consistent with Reuters.
“You were paid by the Russians for your treachery.”
“Of the clearly secret documents, one was a sensitive report addressed to the then Prime Minister of this country, Boris Johnson, sent to him by members of his cabinet. Some of the documents of a lower classification revealed the names, photographs, and personal details of embassy staff,” the pass judgement on mentioned.
Smith had pleaded to blame to 8 fees beneath the Official Secrets Act via committing an act prejudicial to the protection or pursuits of the state in November 2021, PA reported.
According to the scoop company, Smith despatched two letters to Russian Embassy officers in 2020, with one in every of them revealing the id of a diplomat who had labored in Russia. The 2d letter despatched in November 2020 was once traced again to Smith, prompting police to release an investigation.
Smith was once being paid via Russia in change for offering the name of the game knowledge, the pass judgement on dominated, telling him that he had copied a “significant amount of material” throughout his time on the embassy.
“You were fully aware that you should not have copied any of these documents and equally aware were these documents to get into the wrong hands, they might harm British interests or pose a threat to those working at the British Embassy,” the pass judgement on mentioned.
Nick Price, from the Crown Prosecution Service, mentioned Smith’s movements weren’t simply pushed via cash and greed, however that he had “expressed a strong dislike towards the UK and Germany and expressed sympathy with the Russian authorities.”
“These beliefs may have caused further damage had Smith not been discovered and prosecuted.”
