Germany arrests British diplomat suspected of spying for Russia

German police have arrested a British national who worked at the United Kingdom’s embassy in Berlin on suspicion of passing documents to the Russian intelligence service in exchange for cash, according to prosecutors.

German prosecutors said in a statement that the man’s apartment and workplace had been searched and he would be brought before an investigating judge later on Wednesday to determine whether he should be remanded in custody.

The statement added that the suspect, identified only as David S, “on at least one occasion passed on documents he acquired as part of his professional activities to a representative of Russian intelligence”.

“The accused received a cash payment in an unspecified amount in return,” it said. The suspect was believed to have been spying since November 2020 “at the latest”.

The man was arrested on Tuesday in Potsdam, just outside Berlin.

He was employed as a local staff member at the UK embassy until his arrest, which was the result of a joint investigation by German and British authorities, the prosecutors said.

British police confirmed in a statement that the 57-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of committing offences relating to being engaged in “Intelligence Agent activity”.

In May, the UK set out plans to crack down on hostile activity by foreign states, introducing a proposed law to give security services and law enforcement new powers to tackle growing threats.

UK spy chiefs say China and Russia have sought to steal commercially sensitive data and intellectual property as well as interfere in politics.

In 2018, Russian agents were accused of carrying out an attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal on British soil.

Beijing and Moscow say the West is gripped with a paranoia about plots. Both Russia and China deny they meddle abroad, seek to steal technology, carry out cyberattacks or sow discord.