A security guard with a “hatred of the UK” who admitted spying for the Russians grew enraged at the flying of the rainbow flag at the British Embassy in Berlin in support of LGBT rights.
David Ballantyne Smith pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight charges of having “leaked details about the identities and activities of UK agents” to a Russian general.
He pleaded not guilty to a ninth charge of providing information about building repairs being carried out at the embassy.
Prosecutors alleged the disgruntled security guard had wanted to hurt the UK and the British Embassy, where he had worked for eight years.
He was also said to have been angered at the flying of the rainbow flag in support of the LGBT+ community.
The 58-year-old Scot was arrested last August after allegedly offering information to Russian spies.
**A mass of ‘secret’ documents**
It is understood that Smith was unmasked in a joint investigation by German police and the British security services.
The court heard allegations that he made secret video footage of CCTV recordings, leaked a dossier with details of British agents, and gathered a mass of “secret” documents.
Smith, from Paisley, who appeared in the dock at a plea hearing at the Old Bailey last Friday wearing a blue zip up cardigan and blue jeans, put his ear to the glass screen of the dock as the charges were being read to him.
It can now be reported that he pleaded “guilty” to eight of the nine charges, before stating “not guilty” when the ninth was put to him.
Smith denied acting out of a “hatred of Britain” and maintained that he wished no harm to his country.
The former security guard was charged under the Official Secrets Act 1911, and the Official Secrets Act 1920, relating “to the collection and communication of information useful to the Russian state” between October 2020 and August 2021.
One of the charges which he admitted included the allegation that “for a purpose prejudicial to the state” he tried to contact a General Major Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attaché based at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
The material sent to General Chukhurov “contained details about the activities, identities, addresses and telephone numbers of various members of Her Majesty’s Civil Service”.
In an earlier hearing Smith had been described as having an “intense hatred of the British embassy in Berlin” and the “UK generally”, which he disputes.
He is also alleged to have collected material relating to the operation and layout of the British Embassy in Berlin, and that information may have been intended to be “directly or be indirectly” useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state.
Other charges relating to events on the 5 August 2021 alleged that Smith “made unauthorised copies” of documents, kept SIM card packaging “he was meant to dispose of” and made video recordings of CCTV footage from the embassy.
He also admitted allegations that he amassed material classified as “Secret” relating to the activities of Her Majesty’s Government in Berlin.
Defence barrister Matthew Ryder KC told the plea hearing that Smith was not acting out of a desire to damage the UK. He said: “There is a very large difference between the Crown and Mr Smith about his motivation.
“His intention and why he did what he did and the seriousness of the allegations are disputed by Mr Smith.
“It is right to say there is significant difference as to the basis Mr Smith has pleaded guilty including him not having a negative intention towards the UK that the prosecution have alleged against him.”
Reporting restrictions in the case were lifted by Mr Justice Wall on Friday, after the prosecution indicated it would not seek a trial of Smith over the one charge to which he pleaded not guilty.
**Captured on covert CCTV**
Smith, who faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison for spying, will be sentenced at a later date.
He was captured on covert CCTV at the embassy filming images from the building’s CCTV security system on August 5, 2021. At one point he was heard to say: “This’ll do. I’ll get the rest tomorrow.”
On the following day he was again captured on covert CCTV reviewing the embassy’s camera system and filming “particular sections” of it.
As the result of the joint investigation Smith was arrested by German police the next day at his home in Potsdam, 21 miles west of Berlin, after he had left work early complaining of feeling unwell.
Several media devices were found at his home and seized. The prosecution states that these contained the CCTV footage he had filmed, images of security passes for embassy staff, personal information about employees at the embassy and emails and documentation marked “Secret”.
The prosecution stated that suspicions over his behaviour grew after he was found to be “living beyond his means and regularly overdrawn”.
During the search of his apartment eight 100 Euro notes were found, which prosecutors say could not be accounted for and that “it can be inferred that the money came from another source”.
He was extradited to the UK in April after losing a battle to stay in Germany where he is believed to have lived for the past 16 years.
Betraying your own country because it’s nice to people you don’t like lmao jfc this country.
It can’t really about gay people can it?! Insane if true. I think it’s probably more to do with political issues and the gay hate is just a part he said out loud.
Imagine hating LGBT people so much you’re willing to risk going to prison for 14 years (or theoretically longer, since they do sometimes use consecutive sentences for spying charges) over it.
Between this fanny and Liz Truss it’s been a bad year for Paisley.
that sounds right. Why is is LGBT+ rights are such a good litmus test on if a person is an arsehole or not?
“Grew enraged at the flying of a Rainbow flag”. Hurting innocent people enrages me. Abuse enrages me. You know what does not make me see murderous red mists of rage? An effing Flag. You weak-minded, self-centered, no-impulse-control, goddamned fool. Get it into your thick head that other philosophies and peoples outside of your ideology have a right to exist too and no matter how offended you are, you don’t betray your damned country and you definitely DON’T hurt anyone over it. Go suck your thumb if your feelings are hurt.
Bollocks…he enjoyed the brown envelopes with money in more likely.
Do all embassies have such poor screening for their staff, or is this a Berlin issue ?
Wait….
So this guy was just a fucking security guard, and yet appears to have access to secret information? Wtf?
What a fucking pathetic wanker.
You hear about silly stuff but this fella takes the biscuit
Absolute bellend, he’s cosplaying as a Russian-Ukranian Seperatist too. Complete melt.
Whatever his reason and this has got to be the most irrelevant and contemptible, betraying your country and everyone in it, surely needs a harsher penalty when the government has broken no laws.
Well now I’m just going to support gay people more to piss these kinds of people off.
I live in Newham we need more Rainbow flags.
Intolerance here is unbearable.
And people say it’s left-wingers who are russian stooges
People that make headlines this actually need to be launched from buildings, as it’s totally misleading.
The guy has financial issues (a common reason to spy) and the guy was sympathetic to Moscow, particularly the USSR. Those were his motives and reasons.
Saddest part of this was that he wasn’t recruited, he put himself out there. And also got paid fuck all
18 comments
[Accessible link here](https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2022%2F11%2F11%2Fembassy-spy-intense-hatred-uk-sold-secrets-russians-angry-lgbtq%2F).
A security guard with a “hatred of the UK” who admitted spying for the Russians grew enraged at the flying of the rainbow flag at the British Embassy in Berlin in support of LGBT rights.
David Ballantyne Smith pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight charges of having “leaked details about the identities and activities of UK agents” to a Russian general.
He pleaded not guilty to a ninth charge of providing information about building repairs being carried out at the embassy.
Prosecutors alleged the disgruntled security guard had wanted to hurt the UK and the British Embassy, where he had worked for eight years.
He was also said to have been angered at the flying of the rainbow flag in support of the LGBT+ community.
The 58-year-old Scot was arrested last August after allegedly offering information to Russian spies.
**A mass of ‘secret’ documents**
It is understood that Smith was unmasked in a joint investigation by German police and the British security services.
The court heard allegations that he made secret video footage of CCTV recordings, leaked a dossier with details of British agents, and gathered a mass of “secret” documents.
Smith, from Paisley, who appeared in the dock at a plea hearing at the Old Bailey last Friday wearing a blue zip up cardigan and blue jeans, put his ear to the glass screen of the dock as the charges were being read to him.
It can now be reported that he pleaded “guilty” to eight of the nine charges, before stating “not guilty” when the ninth was put to him.
Smith denied acting out of a “hatred of Britain” and maintained that he wished no harm to his country.
The former security guard was charged under the Official Secrets Act 1911, and the Official Secrets Act 1920, relating “to the collection and communication of information useful to the Russian state” between October 2020 and August 2021.
One of the charges which he admitted included the allegation that “for a purpose prejudicial to the state” he tried to contact a General Major Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attaché based at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
The material sent to General Chukhurov “contained details about the activities, identities, addresses and telephone numbers of various members of Her Majesty’s Civil Service”.
In an earlier hearing Smith had been described as having an “intense hatred of the British embassy in Berlin” and the “UK generally”, which he disputes.
He is also alleged to have collected material relating to the operation and layout of the British Embassy in Berlin, and that information may have been intended to be “directly or be indirectly” useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state.
Other charges relating to events on the 5 August 2021 alleged that Smith “made unauthorised copies” of documents, kept SIM card packaging “he was meant to dispose of” and made video recordings of CCTV footage from the embassy.
He also admitted allegations that he amassed material classified as “Secret” relating to the activities of Her Majesty’s Government in Berlin.
Defence barrister Matthew Ryder KC told the plea hearing that Smith was not acting out of a desire to damage the UK. He said: “There is a very large difference between the Crown and Mr Smith about his motivation.
“His intention and why he did what he did and the seriousness of the allegations are disputed by Mr Smith.
“It is right to say there is significant difference as to the basis Mr Smith has pleaded guilty including him not having a negative intention towards the UK that the prosecution have alleged against him.”
Reporting restrictions in the case were lifted by Mr Justice Wall on Friday, after the prosecution indicated it would not seek a trial of Smith over the one charge to which he pleaded not guilty.
**Captured on covert CCTV**
Smith, who faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison for spying, will be sentenced at a later date.
He was captured on covert CCTV at the embassy filming images from the building’s CCTV security system on August 5, 2021. At one point he was heard to say: “This’ll do. I’ll get the rest tomorrow.”
On the following day he was again captured on covert CCTV reviewing the embassy’s camera system and filming “particular sections” of it.
As the result of the joint investigation Smith was arrested by German police the next day at his home in Potsdam, 21 miles west of Berlin, after he had left work early complaining of feeling unwell.
Several media devices were found at his home and seized. The prosecution states that these contained the CCTV footage he had filmed, images of security passes for embassy staff, personal information about employees at the embassy and emails and documentation marked “Secret”.
The prosecution stated that suspicions over his behaviour grew after he was found to be “living beyond his means and regularly overdrawn”.
During the search of his apartment eight 100 Euro notes were found, which prosecutors say could not be accounted for and that “it can be inferred that the money came from another source”.
He was extradited to the UK in April after losing a battle to stay in Germany where he is believed to have lived for the past 16 years.
Betraying your own country because it’s nice to people you don’t like lmao jfc this country.
It can’t really about gay people can it?! Insane if true. I think it’s probably more to do with political issues and the gay hate is just a part he said out loud.
Imagine hating LGBT people so much you’re willing to risk going to prison for 14 years (or theoretically longer, since they do sometimes use consecutive sentences for spying charges) over it.
Between this fanny and Liz Truss it’s been a bad year for Paisley.
that sounds right. Why is is LGBT+ rights are such a good litmus test on if a person is an arsehole or not?
“Grew enraged at the flying of a Rainbow flag”. Hurting innocent people enrages me. Abuse enrages me. You know what does not make me see murderous red mists of rage? An effing Flag. You weak-minded, self-centered, no-impulse-control, goddamned fool. Get it into your thick head that other philosophies and peoples outside of your ideology have a right to exist too and no matter how offended you are, you don’t betray your damned country and you definitely DON’T hurt anyone over it. Go suck your thumb if your feelings are hurt.
Bollocks…he enjoyed the brown envelopes with money in more likely.
Do all embassies have such poor screening for their staff, or is this a Berlin issue ?
Wait….
So this guy was just a fucking security guard, and yet appears to have access to secret information? Wtf?
What a fucking pathetic wanker.
You hear about silly stuff but this fella takes the biscuit
Absolute bellend, he’s cosplaying as a Russian-Ukranian Seperatist too. Complete melt.
Whatever his reason and this has got to be the most irrelevant and contemptible, betraying your country and everyone in it, surely needs a harsher penalty when the government has broken no laws.
Well now I’m just going to support gay people more to piss these kinds of people off.
I live in Newham we need more Rainbow flags.
Intolerance here is unbearable.
And people say it’s left-wingers who are russian stooges
People that make headlines this actually need to be launched from buildings, as it’s totally misleading.
The guy has financial issues (a common reason to spy) and the guy was sympathetic to Moscow, particularly the USSR. Those were his motives and reasons.
Saddest part of this was that he wasn’t recruited, he put himself out there. And also got paid fuck all