25.9 C
Accra
Monday, December 23, 2024
WorldUK court jails Berlin embassy guard for spying for Russia

Date:

UK court jails Berlin embassy guard for spying for Russia

Due to his violation of the UK’s Official Secrets Act, David Ballantyne Smith received a 13-year prison sentence. He was apprehended during a British-German sting operation and extradited to London.


A British man who was a security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin when he passed information to Russia was sentenced to 13 years and two months in prison on Friday.

David Ballantyne Smith, 58, of Paisley, west-central Scotland, was apprehended in a sting operation in August 2021 and previously entered a guilty plea to eight offences under the UK’s Official Secrets Act.

Smith, a five-year employee at the embassy, acknowledged informing General Major Sergey Chukhrov, the Russian military attache in Berlin, of information.

During sentencing at the Old Bailey Court in London, Judge Mark Wall said that Smith had “developed anti-British and anti-Western feelings” during his employment and that his co-workers had “formed the impression you were more sympathetic to Russia” and to President Vladimir Putin.

Wall described how Smith would go into offices in the embassy while it was empty at night and take pictures of files marked “secret.”

“You were paid by the Russians for your treachery,” the judge told him, rejecting Smith’s evidence that he felt remorse as “no more than self-pity.”

The charges for which Smith was sentenced involved conduct between 2020 and 2021, but Wall noted that his “subversive activities had begun two years before.”

Smith wanted to damage UK’s interests

During his trial, it was revealed that Smith collected highly sensitive information, including “secret” government communications with Prime Minister Boris Johnson from two cabinet ministers.

The court heard he made several videos of sensitive areas inside the Berlin embassy building.

Wall had previously dismissed Smith’s claims that he had passed intelligence only twice in order to cause “embarrassment” to the UK.

The military veteran “was motivated by his antipathy towards Britain and intended to damage this country’s interests by acting as he did,” the judge said during the trial.

Smith apologized for ‘grievance’

Earlier this week, Smith told the court that he started collecting confidential information during a dispute with colleagues and while suffering from depression “to give the embassy a bit of a slap.

“I can only apologize for any distress I’ve caused to anyone,” he said. “I didn’t set out to harm anyone in any way. I just had a bit of a grievance and I just wanted to embarrass the embassy.”

Smith denied that he was anti-UK or pro-Russian Putin, adding: “My thoughts on Mr. Putin are neither here nor there.”

He also said he had served in Britain’s Royal Air Force for 12 years.

After British and German authorities found out about his spying, they formed a plot to try to catch Smith in the act.

Smith was arrested after communicating with two MI5 officers posing as Russian nationals “Dmitry” and “Irina.”

He was later extradited to the UK.

[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

U.S. Financial Analyst labels Akufo-Addo as Ghana’s worst, corrupt leader

Renowned U.S. financial analyst Scott Bolshevik has sparked a...

Lead-based paints cause lasting health damage – EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has voiced concerns over...

Upper West Region receives 35,600 condoms in effort to curb HIV spread

The Ghana AIDS Commission distributed 35,600 condoms in the...

Star Oil commemorates 25th anniversary

Star Oil, a privately-run fuel retail company, has reaffirmed...

Govt has not issued financial clearance for new expenses – Govt’s transition team

The Government Transition Team clarified that no financial clearance...

‘Your career has not come to an end when you leave a record label’ – Sefa

Ghanaian musician Sefadzi Abena Amesu, popularly known as Sefa,...

More than 12,000 Ghanaians were deported globally in last four years – GIS

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has reported that over...

Related stories

Biden grants full pardon to son Hunter amid criminal sentencing

US President Joe Biden has granted a full and...

Court issues 2-year suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Chair for bribery, others

Former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange on Tuesday received...

Ghanaians among UN peacekeepers injured in Southern Lebanon attacks

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported...

Russia denies Trump told Putin to restrain Ukraine war efforts

The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting that US...

More than 100 detained as protesters defy Amsterdam’s ban on protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Amsterdam on...

Traffic jam erupts as cyclists from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for dumplings

A social media trend that began as a lighthearted...

Adin Ross wins $1.6m on Trump election bet after public endorsement

American streamer and social media influencer Adin Ross scored...