He was working as a spy for the Russians as they invaded Ukraine
A spy who sold secrets to the Russians was caught filming inside the British embassy in Berlin as Putin’s troops were massing to invade Ukraine, the Old Bailey heard.
Embassy security guard David Ballantyne Smith, 58, shared confidential letters between then Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Scot was unmasked in a joint investigation by German police and British security services and arrested at his home in Potsdam in August 2021.
Smith was motivated by ‘an extreme hatred of where he works and the United Kingdom in general’, the court has heard.
Alison Morgan, prosecuting asked him: ‘In a time of great volatility, your colleagues were hearing you express pro-Putin and anti-Western views?’
Smith said: ‘So they’ve said – but they’ve not given any examples.’
Ms Morgan said: ‘The mental health crisis you’ve said culminated in 2020 provides no explanation as to why you were collecting information from 2018 onwards.’
Smith said: ‘As I’ve said before, I felt mentally ill from the day I started at the embassy.
‘I was going to leave in September 2021. I wasn’t going to give any notice, I was just going to get up and leave.’
Smith claimed he stayed because of ‘the money and the conditions.’
‘It was more than I would have got at the German security firm,’ he said.
Ms Morgan said: ‘Or was it the opportunity to take possession of documents from the embassy which you then stored on devices?’
Smith denied the suggestion.
Ms Morgan said: ‘Of all the pages, the one picture you took, the one that you chose to focus in on was the Russian page wasn’t it?’
Smith replied: ‘Well, if that’s what it says then yes, but it was a long time ago.’
The prosecutor said: ‘Yes, before your mental health crisis’.
He answered: ‘Well, I was drinking for a long time.’
Ms Morgan said: ‘You have said that you took these photos because you were drunk.’
‘I did it on a whim’, replied Smith.
He claimed he filmed the embassy after drinking seven pints of beer.
He said: ‘I was pissed when I made them I was drunk, I can assure you I had seven pints of beer.’
Ms Morgan said: ‘Mr Smith, my Lord has seen the videos, these are not drunken videos taken by a teenager on TikTok are they?
‘Although you say you were ashamed in revealing the names of colleagues, those videos show you going to a particular officer don’t they?’
He replied: ‘Not particular.’
Ms Morgan said: ‘You filming the name plaque on the door, then outside the window – the purpose is to show their precise geographic location in the embassy isn’t it?
‘There are no security concerns out of the window. Your reasoning of exposing lack of security at the embassy, there would be no justification for filming out the window would there?’
Smith said: ‘I was under the influence. I’m sorry I can’t answer that. I can’t tell you.’
Ms Morgan asked: ‘Those names are not accidental drunken choices are they?’
Smith replied: ‘Honestly I can’t remember.’
Ms Morgan said: ‘You knew that someone would need to identify that person, to know their relations, where their officers were located, their telephone numbers. You were told to do that by someone weren’t you?’
Smith said; ‘I was told by no one.’
Asked what the cartoon of Putin holding Angela Merkel’s head found in his work locker was about he replied: ‘Oh for God sake, it was a cartoon.
‘Am I not allowed to laugh at cartoons? It came to me in the post.
‘[I kept it] because I thought it was funny.
‘It’s supposed to be a Russian memorial in a park, but it shows Mr Putin grabbing Angela Merkel by the neck.
‘I found it funny. Well, maybe I have a twisted sense of humour, I can’t help it.’
Ms Morgan said: ‘Russia was massing vast amounts of troops on the Ukraine border at the time.’
Smith replied: ‘It is a cartoon, I can’t help what I find funny. I do apologise.
‘I chose to put it in the back of my locker and my work colleagues even laughed at it.
‘I’m sorry this is unbelievable, I found it funny.’
Asked why he filmed Dmitry entering the embassy, Smith said: ‘As far as I was concerned it was showing what the embassy shouldn’t have been doing.
‘The embassy should be there to improve relations between the UK and Germany. It shouldn’t be there as a listening post or an intelligence hub.
‘I thought I might expose it, I could have passed it to the Russian Embassy, or I could have passed it on to the Germans or I could have put it in the shredder.
‘It’s illegal to spy on German territory.
‘It shows British skulduggery at the British Embassy and that Dmitry is illegally spying on German soil.’
From 2021 Smith abruptly stopped spending money on his cards. He claims he was spending cash he got from selling his Soviet militaria.
Ms Morgan suggested Smith is ‘just not telling the truth’, pointing out that he mentioned the flea market for the first time in court yesterday, and never mentioned it at the time during his arrest.
Smith, originally from Paisley, Scotland, has admitted eight offences under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 and 1920, committed between May 2020 and August 2021.
The charges state he committed an act prejudicial to the safety or interest of the State and the information he shared was calculated to be, or might be useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state.
According to guidelines, he could face up to 14 years in prison.
The guard denied a ninth like-offence alleging he leaked information about embassy building repairs on 6 August 2021 and the charge is expected to be ordered to lie on file.
Mr Justice Mark Wall will sentence Smith after a week-long Newton hearing on Friday 17 February.
The hearing continues with Justice Wall to give his judgment on the facts tomorrow (thurs).
