LONDON (CNN) A former security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison on Friday at the Old Bailey in London after he was caught spying for Russia.
Judge Mark Wall said 58-year-old David Ballantyne Smith “secretly” collected information from the British embassy between 2018 and 2021, some of which was clearly marked as “secret”. He then sold the information to Russia as part of an “ongoing” relationship.
“I’m sure you committed these crimes to help Russia… Your motive for helping them was to damage British interests,” the judge said, according to Portal.
“You were paid by the Russians for your treason.”
“One of the clearly classified documents was a sensitive report sent to the then Prime Minister of that country, Boris Johnson, by members of his cabinet detailing embassy staff,” the judge said.
Smith had pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Official Secrets Act by committing an act detrimental to security or the interests of the state in November 2021, PA reported.
According to the news outlet, Smith sent two letters to Russian embassy officials in 2020, one of which revealed the identity of a diplomat who had worked in Russia. The second letter, sent in November 2020, was traced back to Smith, prompting police to launch an investigation.
Smith was paid by Russia in exchange for providing the classified information, the judge ruled, telling him he copied a “significant amount of material” during his time at the embassy.
“You were fully aware that you should not have copied any of these documents, and equally aware that if these documents fell into the wrong hands, they could harm British interests or pose a threat to British Embassy staff,” he said the judge.
Nick Price of the Crown Prosecution Service said Smith’s actions were not only driven by money and greed, but he had “expressed a strong dislike for Britain and Germany and expressed sympathy for the Russian authorities”.
“These beliefs might have done further harm had Smith not been discovered and prosecuted.”