An employee of the British embassy is arrested near Berlin. He is said to have played secret information to Russia. He is now pleading guilty, but the motive remains open. Is it a disgruntled employee or an actual spy?
A British embassy employee who is said to have spied for Russia in Berlin has pleaded guilty to the alleged crimes. According to the British news agency PA, the 58-year-old Briton is accused of having provided information and secret documents to Russia in exchange for money. According to the PA, the admission of guilt in London’s Old Bailey criminal court was made last week, but for legal reasons it could only be reported publicly now.
According to his lawyer, however, the motives of the accused differ significantly from those assumed by the prosecutors. While the prosecution believes the Brit is a spy who wanted to help Russia and harm his country, the latter sees himself as just a disgruntled embassy employee who didn’t want to do any harm. The Brit was extradited from Germany to Great Britain in the spring. He faces up to 14 years in prison for alleged espionage.
Officials from the Federal Criminal Police Office arrested the man in Potsdam on August 10 last year. The federal prosecutor also accused the man of having provided documents to a Russian secret service for money. By November 2020 at the latest, he should have submitted material that he had obtained in the course of his work at least once. According to the British Home Office, joint investigations by German and British authorities contributed to the arrest. After the arrest, the Foreign Office in Berlin emphasized that secret service spying on a close ally on German soil would not be accepted.
