David Smith, 57, allegedly passed secret information about the British government to a military escort. The Briton, who lived in the German capital Potsdam, is accused of gathering information from the embassy and handing it over to someone he believed was a representative of the Russian state, as well as other alleged crimes, between October 2020 and August last year. . Smith faces nine charges under the Secret Service Act. On Wednesday, Smith appeared before Old Bailey via video from Belmarsh High Security Prison. Wearing a green shirt and blue jeans, he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth before setting a timetable for the case. Mr Sweeney said a trial would take place on February 13 next year in Old Bailey. It will be tried by a judge of the Supreme Court and will last up to four weeks. The hearing on the objection and the management of the case is scheduled for July 29. After a brief hearing, Smith was taken into custody. Smith was arrested by German police last August and extradited to the United Kingdom earlier this month. Smith’s allegations include an attempt to “communicate” through a letter to “General Sergei Chukhurov, the Russian military ombudsman stationed outside the Russian embassy in Berlin.” The material he attempted to contact allegedly “contained details about the activities, identities, addresses and telephone numbers of various members of His Majesty’s public service.” Smith allegedly committed “prejudices” against the security and interests of the state by collecting “secret” information about the “activities of His Majesty’s government.” He allegedly “collected material on the operation and arrangement of the British embassy in Berlin”, with this information being considered or intended to be “useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state”. Smith also allegedly made unauthorized photocopies of documents and videotapes of the embassy CCTV system and “kept the sim card package” which he was asked to reject.
