David Smith, 57, pleaded guilty to nine counts under the Secret Service Act when he appeared in Westminster court on Thursday. The Briton, who lived in the German capital Potsdam, is accused of gathering information from the embassy and passing it on to someone he believed was a representative of the Russian state, as well as other alleged crimes, between October 2020 and August last year. . During his appearance, Smith spoke only to give his full name, age and address and to file an acquittal. The court heard the allegations, including allegations that Smith tried to write a letter to General Sergei Chukhurov, a Russian soldier based at the Russian embassy in Berlin. The court was informed that the material in the letter allegedly contained “details about the activities, identities, addresses and telephone numbers of various members of His Majesty’s public service”, in violation of the law on official secrets. As for the other eight charges, Smith is accused of committing acts of “prejudice” against the security and interests of the state by collecting information classified as “confidential” about the “activities of His Majesty the Government” and “collecting material on the operation and the order of the British embassy in Berlin, and this information was estimated to have been or could be or was intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state. “ He is also alleged to have made unauthorized photocopies of documents, video recordings of the embassy’s closed-circuit television system and to have kept the sim card package he was asked to reject. Smith also reportedly reported information about building repairs to the embassy after “approaching a person you thought was a member of the Russian military intelligence service (GRU).” All charges carry a maximum sentence of 14 years. Smith denied bail and was remanded in custody. He was extradited to the United Kingdom from Germany on Wednesday after being arrested by German police on August 10, 2021. Scotland Yard said the investigation was conducted by counterterrorism officers. Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Office of Crime and Counterterrorism, said: “David Smith has been charged with nine offenses against the Official Secrets Act. “He is charged with seven counts of gathering information for the purpose of sending it to the Russian authorities, one for attempted communication and one for providing information to a person who he believed was a member of the Russian authorities. “After examining the case and approving the charges, we received an extradition warrant and worked closely with our German counterparts to bring Mr Smith back to the United Kingdom.”
