The Judge in the case said "you were more sympathetic to Russia in general and President Putin in particular. You yourself accepted in evidence that at one stage during your employment at the Embassy you were a supporter of the Russian backed rebels in the Donbas region of the Ukraine who wanted to return to Russian rule."

There is no point in paraphrasing, here, the Judge's summary of Smith's actions. He said "Against that background, in 2018, you started to collect information from the British Embassy to which you were not entitled. You continued to do this until your arrest in 2021.

"You did it by stealth – using the opportunities provided to you by your employment to visit various offices in the Embassy at night when others had gone home and take photographs of classified documents on your telephone or camera. A number of these documents were clearly marked as secret; others were of a lower classification but were still obviously not for dissemination beyond the Embassy. Of the clearly secret documents, one was a sensitive report addressed to the then Prime Minister of this country, Boris Johnson, sent to him by members of his cabinet. Some of the documents of a lower classification revealed the
names, photographs and personal details of Embassy staff. You found some of these documents on desks or displayed in areas of the Embassy not open to the public; others, you removed from private drawers in desks in order that you might copy them. "

"Having taken copies of these documents, you then downloaded them from your phone or camera onto your personal computer or other electronic storage devices. You took care to store some documents in a way which made it less likely that they would be found by someone who casually examined your belongings. For example, you put some of the photographed documents containing personal details of Embassy workers into a file, the name of which suggested that it contained nothing but your holiday photographs."

"In 2020, you also took a number of videos of those areas of the Embassy into which the public have no right of access. These videos were carefully and methodically filmed. They contained a considerable amount of information which would be, and you knew would be, useful to a hostile foreign power. I am sure that you took them with that in mind and that this was video footage always designed to be provided to Russia. You filmed the nameplates on the doors of the offices, personal information about the offices’ occupants which was on display in the rooms, and any potentially useful documents left on a surface in the room or which you found put away in a desk. You would often include footage of the view from the window of the office. This can only have been so that anyone who viewed the footage could have pinpointed where in the Embassy building any particular room could be located. "

"of that material. I need only record that it was voluminous and obviously gathered on a number of dates and not at one time. In 2020, you also took a number of videos of those areas of the Embassy into which the public have no right of access. These videos were carefully and methodically filmed. They contained a considerable amount of information which would be, and you knew would be, useful to a hostile foreign power. I am sure that you took them with that in mind and that this was video footage always designed to be provided to Russia. You filmed the nameplates on the doors of the offices, personal information about the offices’ occupants which was on display in the rooms, and any potentially useful documents left on a surface in the room or which you found put away in a desk. You would often include footage of the view from the window of the office. This can only have been so that anyone who viewed the footage could have pinpointed where in the Embassy building any particular room could be located. This activity is reflected in count 2.

"You started to pass on this information to the Russians in May 2020. In that month you wrote anonymously to General Sirov, a military attaché at the Russian Embassy. You enclosed with your letter a booklet you had obtained from the British Embassy which set out the names of people working there along with some contact details for them and a description of the roles they performed within the Embassy. In that letter you promised that more information would be forthcoming."

"The other specific example of you passing on information was a letter you wrote to General Major Chukhrov, another military attaché at the Russian Embassy, in November 2020. In that letter, you provided an update on people newly arrived to work in the organisation. You also passed to him photographs of Embassy staff which you had deliberately annotated with personal details of the people depicted in them. You put those people at maximum risk by so doing."

" I am sure that at some stage in 2020 you established regular contact with someone at the Russian Embassy and this contact was a conduit through which material improperly obtained by you was passed on."

Cheap at half the price

Smith was paid but it appears that he was paid small amounts. It was enough to cover his living expenses - he rarely dipped into his bank account once the money started to flow - but not enough for large spending: he accumulated only 800 euros in savings.

He was caught by a carefully executed sting in which a fake Russian was presented as a traitor to Russia: Smith gathered prepared "evidence" against him and even made a copy of the fake Russian's visit to the British Embassy with as much information as he could gather to identity him for the purpose of "outing" him to the Russians.

The Judge said "I am sure that you committed these crimes intending to assist Russia, a state which at that time, as now, was regarded as unfriendly to the United Kingdom. Your motive in assisting them was to damage British interests. "

"I reject any suggestion that you are remorseful for your actions. Your regrets are no more than self-pity."

The numerous convictions, some of which received concurrent sentences and some consecutive sentences, mean a total period of imprisonment of 12 years, 2 months. But he will serve half in jail and half on licence if the sentence is served in the UK.

But he may serve it in Germany where rules on early release are different.

"I make no orders for confiscation or destruction of your computer and other equipment used in this offending as it is in Germany, " said the Judge.

Source: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/R-v-Smith-sentencin…