LONDON, United Kingdom - A former security guard at the UK's Berlin embassy, who admitted spying for Moscow, was on Friday jailed for over 13 years under the Official Secrets Act.
David Ballantyne Smith, 58, was caught in a sting operation after passing sensitive material to the Russian embassy in
to sentencing powers in other cases of this type in the past. significantly longer sentences than this have been reserved for offenders such as george blake, whose treachery was in myjudgment of a much greater magnitude than yours. significantly shorter sentences have been reserved for people whose activity was, in my judgment, more limited than your own. such as in authorities referred to me as james and finch. mr smith, stand up. on counts one of this indictment, i sentence you to a term of six years, two months in prison. on counts two to eight, i sentence you to concurrent terms of seven years but to those terms will be served consecutively to your sentence on counts one, making a total term of 13 years two months.
David Ballantyne Smith was given a 13-year jail sentence for breaking the UK's Official Secrets Act. He was arrested in a British-German sting operation and extradited to London.