UK embassy guard in Berlin gets prison for spying for Russia

David Ballantyne Smith admitted spying however claimed he was pushed by melancholy and a want to “teach the embassy a lesson” as a result of he felt badly handled at work.

David Ballantyne Smith was secretly working for Russia. (AP)

“He was paid for his treachery, and he was motivated by his antipathy towards this country and intended to damage this country’s interests by acting as he did,” Wall mentioned.

Passing sentence at London’s Central Criminal Court, the decide mentioned Smith’s actions had “potentially catastrophic consequences for others.”

He sentenced Smith to 13 years and two months in jail for eight breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

Smith, 58, gave the Russian Embassy in Germany’s capital details about the actions, identities, addresses and cellphone numbers of British officers, prosecutors mentioned.

David Ballantyne Smith taking a video of the CCTV monitors in the British Embassy security kiosk. — David Ballantyne Smith taking a video of the CCTV displays within the British Embassy safety kiosk. (AP)

Smith additionally collected intelligence on the operation and structure of the British Embassy, which prosecutors mentioned could be helpful to “an enemy, namely the Russian state”.

The judge said Smith sent the Russians photographs of U.K. embassy staff with annotated descriptions that put them at “maximum risk”.

Prosecutors say the former Royal Air Force member had expressed sympathy with Russian authorities and consumed online conspiracy theories and pro-Russia propaganda.

They said Smith had inside his locker at work a cartoon of Putin with his hands around former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Nazi uniform – reflecting the sort of false narrative Russia has used to justify its invasion of Ukraine.

German police arrested Smith at his home near Berlin in August 2021 after a sting operation conducted with British intelligence officers that included undercover operatives posing as a Russian defector and a Russian spy.

He was extradited to the U.K. in April 2022.

David Ballantyne Smith was working at the UK embassy in Berlin, and spying for Russia. (AP)

Nick Price of the Crown Prosecution Service said Smith had “abused his position in the British Embassy in Berlin” to hold out “an attack on our country.”

“His actions were not just driven by money and greed,” Price mentioned. “On multiple occasions, he expressed a strong dislike towards 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 prosecuted.”