A security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin has pleaded guilty to eight charges of spying for Russia.
David Ballantyne Smith, 58, entered pleas of guilty last week to eight counts of breaching the Official Secrets Act by “committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state,” but it could only be reported on Friday after the Crown decided not to proceed with a ninth count which Smith denied.
The Old Bailey heard Smith began passing on secret intelligence from May 2020 and was motivated by hatred for Britain and Germany and sympathy with Russia.
The prosecution said Smith, who had worked at the embassy for eight years, wanted to hurt Britain and had been angered when the embassy flew a rainbow flag in support of the LGBT+ community.
But Smith’s barrister, Matthew Ryder, KC, told the court: “There is a very large difference between the Crown and Mr. Smith about his motivation. His intention and why he did what he did and the seriousness of the allegations are disputed by Mr. Smith.”
Ryder said: “It is right to say there is significant difference as to the basis Mr. Smith has pleaded guilty including him not having a negative intention towards the UK that the prosecution have alleged against him.”
Smith saw himself as a disgruntled employee, rather than a spy, and never intended his actions would help Russia, said Ryder.
Smith Contacted Russian Military Attache in Berlin
Smith is said to have first made contact with Gen. Maj. Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attache in Berlin, in May 2020 and gave information about the identities, addresses, and phone numbers of various British Embassy officials.He then collected intelligence on the layout of the embassy, which was useful to “an enemy, namely the Russian state.”
In August 2021, as the net closed on Smith, he left work early and complained he was feeling ill.
But he was met by German police when he arrived home in Potsdam and when his electronic devices were interrogated, they revealed footage from the embassy and a draft letter to a Russian military attache dated May 14, 2020.
In it, he confirmed he worked at the embassy and wanted anonymity as he offered a book classified as “official sensitive.”
He was extradited from Germany in November 2021 and was due to go on trial next year.
Smith faces up to 14 years in prison after admitting the eight charges.
In 2020 Simon Finch, a former defence worker from Southport, was jailed for eight years after he admitted disclosing “damaging” details of a British missile system.
