British Embassy employee who spied for Russia jailed for 13 years

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A former security guard at Britain's Embassy in Berlin was sentenced to 13 years in jail Friday after being convicted of spying for Russia.

David Ballantyne Smith, who pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Official Secrets Acts involving passing classified documents and photos to Russian authorities, was caught in an undercover operation involving British intelligence operatives posing as Russian agents.

The 58-year-old former Royal Air Force serviceman claimed his motive was to inconvenience and embarrass the embassy, but evidence showed he received payment for his services.

Jailing Smith for 13 years and two months at the Old Bailey in London, Justice Wall said he had placed embassy staff at "maximum risk" by passing their annotated images to the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

"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 judge said.

"You established regular contact with someone at the Russian Embassy and this contact was a conduit through which material illegally obtained by you was passed on."

The Crown Prosecution Service, which extradited Smith back to Britain to stand trial with the assistance of German authorities, said Smith had abused his position to covertly collect and pass sensitive information to Russia.

Speaking outside the court, Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "These crimes were an attack on our country and could have threatened national security,"

"His actions were not just driven by money and greed. On multiple occasions he expressed a strong dislike toward the U.K. and Germany and expressed sympathy with the Russian authorities.

"These beliefs may have caused further damage had Smith not been discovered and prosecute," Price said.

In addition to damaging national security, Smith's actions came at a cost of $985,000 to British taxpayers, according to a British consular official, because the security breaches forced the embassy to review the security of every staff member.