By Tony O’Reilly-
A security guard has admitted spying for Russia while working at the British Embassy in Berlin.
David Smith, 58, (pictured) pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight breaches of the Official Secrets Act relating to his covert activities between May 2020 and last summer.
The charges laid against Smith stated he had communicated with General Major Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attache based out of the Russian Embassy in Berlin in 2020 – giving information about the addresses, phone numbers and activities of various British civil servants.
Prosecutors alleged David Smith, 58, had wanted to hurt the UK and the embassy where he had worked for eight years.
The Briton was caught collecting intelligence about the embassy and layout of the embassy, as well as leaking secret documents. He kept a number of addresses and telephone numbers of British civil servants and penned a letter offering information to General Major Sergey Chukhurov the military attache based out of the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
The twisted security guard gathered information classified as “secret” about the “activities of Her Majesty’s Government”, according to criminal charges. He also put together intelligence on the layout and operation of the embassy where he worked, he made photocopies of documents, and copied CCTV footage, the court heard. He believed it would be useful to the enemy, that is the Russian State.
Smith is said to have wanted to live in Russia or Ukraine during the time he passed on secret intelligence from May 2020. Prosecutors said he was driven by an intense hatred for his country and angered by the flying of the Rainbow flag in support of the LGBT community.
They also alleged he had wanted to hurt the UK and the British Embassy where he had worked for eight years. They claim he handed Russian officials the private details of various British civil servants and was also angered at the flying of the Rainbow flag in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Cops found 800 euros in cash was found at his home in Potsdam, Germany, when he was arrested in August last year.
Photographs
Photographs of his living room, subsequently published by the Mail Online, displayed Russian memorabilia, including a flag. On his bookshelf were volumes on history and a novel by the late John le Carre, who is best known for his Cold War spy thrillers.
An examination of his electronic devices 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 sought anonymity as he offered a book classified as “official sensitive”.
Also discovered were pictures of staff security passes and personal information, “secret” classified emails and documents, posters and whiteboards in the embassy.
The now shamed security guard was extradited from Germany to the UK to face trial in April this year, facing claims he had been “collecting material relating to the operation and layout of the British Embassy in Berlin” with a view that it would be “useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state”.
Reporting restrictions were for the first time lifted on Friday, after the prosecution indicated it would not seek a trial on a ninth charge that he had denied.
Smith will be sentenced at a later date, and faces a maximum of 14 years in prison.