Brit accused of spying for Vladimir Putin’s Russia and leaking information from embassy appears before judge

A BRITISH security guard accused of spying for the Russian state in Berlin has appeared in court.

David Ballantyne Smith, 57, allegedly collected and leaked information "deemed useful to the Russian state" over a period of ten months.

The security guard was working at the British Embassy in Berlin when he was arrested by German cops on August 10 last year.

He was extradited back to the UK in April this year after being charged with nine offences under the Official Secrets Act.

He appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday and spoke only to confirm his name during the 10-minute-hearing.

Smith, wearing a light blue jacket over a red open-collared shirt, was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the same court next Thursday.

The Brit denied all the charges when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in April.

Smith is accused of spying for the Russian state between October 2020 and August 2021.

He allegedly sent a letter to General Major Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attaché based at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, with confidential information about civil service members.

He is also accused of collecting details about the operations and layout of the British Embassy in Berlin, the British government’s activities and gathering information below the level of "secret".

On August 5 last year, Smith also allegedly made a photocopy of documents that could be useful to the Russians.

He is also accused of holding onto SIM card packaging he had been told to destroy and making recordings of someone on the CCTV system at the embassy.

The next day, the Brit allegedly made another recording of the same person.

He also shared information about building repairs at the embassy in Berlin which could be "directly or indirectly useful" to the Russian state.

Intelligence agencies in the UK and Germany are said to have trailed Smith for months before swooping on his address and detaining him last summer.

The CPS worked with the Metropolitan Police to build a prosecution case and authorised charges on November 15 last year.

Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division at the CPS, Nick Price said: “David Smith has been charged with nine offences contrary to the Official Secrets Act.

"He is accused of seven offences of collecting information with the intent of sending it to the Russian authorities, one of attempting communication and one of providing information to a person he believed was a member of the Russian authorities.

"After reviewing the case and authorising charges, we obtained an extradition warrant and worked closely with our German counterparts in order to bring Mr Smith back to the UK."