By ben Kerrigan-
A Russian spy at the British embassy in Berlin was caught by a sting operation, the OId Bailey has heard.
Briton David Ballantyne Smith, 58, (pictured)was caught after being set up with an fake Russian spy, while he was working as a security guard when he passed secret information to Russian authorities.
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The court heard how two fake Russian operatives working undercover helped lead to his arrest in August 2021.
Smith, who is originally from Paisley, was snared in an undercover operation involving the deployment of two fake Russian operatives, after he sent a letter in November 2020 to a member of military staff at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
The first undercover role-player purported to be a “walk-in” Russian informant called “Dmitry”.
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The Scot was tasked with escorting him into the British Embassy on August 5 2021, copying a document Dmitry brought and disposing of Sim card packaging.
Afterwards, Smith was captured on CCTV in his security kiosk, filming the earlier footage of Dmitry wearing a flat cap and glasses.
The Old Bailey heard he filmed about 45 seconds then said: “This’ll do. I’ll get the rest tomorrow.”
On August 9, Smith was accosted in the street by a second role-player, “Irina”, who told him she was a Russian intelligence officer.
On a covert recording played in court, Smith appeared cautious about engaging with her, saying he needed to speak to “someone” first.
He told Irina: “I don’t trust the bastards I work for. Would you trust MI5 and MI6?”
He went on to complain about his “boring” job, saying: “To tell the truth I don’t want to be there any more.”
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said: “Irina was deployed to play the role of the GRU officer and to see whether someone – Dmitry – was providing information to the UK that could be damaging to Russia.
“He (Smith) is someone who has been engaging with the Russian authorities for some time.
“The prosecution allege he has been aware of the Dmitry incident and knows the potential significance of the Dmitry incident because he has taken the recordings with a view to passing that material on.
“So when he is presented with somebody who claims to be from the Russian authorities and inquires about it, the prosecution position is that the defendant was stalling in his engagement with Irina, trying to work out as quickly as he could think about it, what was the more likely – that this was a real Russian representative who he could trust to provide the information, even though Irina was plainly not the ‘someone’ who the defendant was ordinarily engaging with.”
Smith pleaded guilty to eight charges last year and has returned to court for legal argument about his motivation.
He claims he was not paid, but was motivated by an employment grievance while suffering mental health issues.
The Old Bailey heard how one undercover operative posed as a “walk-in” Russian informant called “Dmitry” when he was escorted into the British embassy by Smith on 5 August 2021.
Afterwards, Smith was seen on CCTV recording the earlier footage of Dmitry.
“The prosecution allege he… knows the potential significance of the Dmitry incident because he has taken the recordings with a view to passing that material on,” Alison Morgan KC told the court.
A second undercover operative met him in the street and claimed to be a Russian intelligence officer called “Irina”.
“Irina was deployed to play the role of the GRU [Russian spy agency] officer and to see whether someone – Dmitry – was providing information to the UK that could be damaging to Russia,” said Ms Morgan.
Smith was covertly recorded, and could be heard telling Irina he needed to speak to “someone” first.
The undercover sting was prompted by a letter Smith sent in November 2020 to a military staff member at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
Prosecutors say Smith received money in exchange for information and favoured Russia and its leadership.
Smith has denied leaking secrets for money and said he only intended to “inconvenience and embarrass” the embassy
Prosecutors say his deliberate engagement with Russian authorities by providing them with confidential and sensitive information showed intent to harm British interests.
Items seized from his flat included travel documents and sheets of blank embassy headed paper. Photographs taken at that address showed a Russian Federation flag, a Soviet military hat, a Communist toy Lada car and a Russian cuddly toy Rottweiler dog wearing a military hat.
Morgan went on: “The defendant will assert he knew from the outset Irina was MI5 and further asserts he said that to her on the recording.”
But she said there were “no words” to that effect on audio played in court.
She said: “The defendant was plainly hedging his bets to seek whether or not he could trust her.
“This is a man who was plainly trying to work Irina out.
“The key line is he told Irina that he would have to check with ‘someone’”.
Ms Morgan added that when Irina showed him a picture of Dmitry he did not react at all.
A cartoon seized from his work locker showed Russian President Vladimir Putin in military attire holding the head of former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Last November, Smith pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Official Secrets Act by committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state.
Smith is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday.
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