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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Tristan Kirk

British embassy guard ‘endangered colleagues when spying for Russia as Ukraine war loomed’

David Ballantyne Smith, during his meeting with “Irina”

(Picture: PA Media)

A security guard caught spying for Russia had filmed a video inside the British embassy in Berlin identifying officials and their families, just as President Putin’s troops were amassing on the border with Ukraine, the Old Bailey heard.

David Ballantyne Smith, 58, passed information to Russian intelligence agents and amassed a collection of sensitive pictures, videos, and documents between 2018 and 2021.

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