David Smith: All we know about ‘lonely’ Russian spy with a grudge against Britain – and how he was caught

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ews of the arrest of a Russian spy operating inside the British embassy in Berlin sent shockwaves around the world in summer 2021.

The mysterious David S – as he was then known – had been secretly leaking intelligence to his Russian paymasters and an undercover mole hunt had turned up the spy within.

Memories were evoked of the notorious Cambridge Spy Ring, when the Queen’s art historian Anthony Blunt, together with Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, and Donald Maclean, infiltrated the upper echelons of British society to betray their country.

Now, in Berlin – a city that was a hotbed of Cold War hostilities – another of Russia’s furtive agents had been uncovered, utilising his access to the inner workings of the British state for hostile means.

David Ballantyne Smith is, however, a far cry from the mysterious and thrilling figures drawn in espionage folklore (on Friday December 17 he was jailed for 13 years and two months for his treachery).

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David Ballantyne Smith, during his meeting with ‘Irina’

/ PA Media

In the cold light of the Old Bailey courtroom in London, Smith has been revealed as a security guard with a dangerous grudge, an obsessive collector of Soviet and Nazi memorabilia with a penchant for online conspiracy theories.

Smith had one of John Le Carré’s spy fantasies on his bookshelf at home, but he is the polar opposite of characters from fiction: A man who spent his days at home alone drinking beer, lonely and angry, and ultimately someone whose scurrilous activities were discovered thanks to amateurish blunders.

‘Hostility to this country’

Smith worked in security at the embassy from 2016 until his arrest in August 2021, when an undercover mission revealed he had been selling secrets to Russian contacts.

Smith has admitted spying for Russia while working at the British Embassy in Berlin

/ PA Archive

In court, the 56-year-old wore the same faded blue jeans, well-worn Skechers trainers, and crumpled sweater for every day of the hearing at the Old Bailey.

With spectacles propped on top of his head and using a hearing aid, Smith had an unassuming, almost genial, appearance.

But the clunky metal handcuffs tethering him to a security guard as he ambled between the dock and the witness box starkly illustrated his true status as a dangerous man who had committed the gravest of crimes.

Smith is being sentenced in Court 2 of the Old Bailey in London

/ Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Smith was born and raised in the industrial town of Paisley in western Scotland, and signed up to the Royal Air Force in 1985.

He spent 12 years in total serving his country, including a prestigious posting to the former HQ of Fighter Command at Bentley Priory. He moved to Crawley in West Sussex after leaving military service, becoming a flight auditor at Gatwick Airport and then working as cabin crew for an airline until 2002.

Smith first wed in 1989 and the marriage bore a daughter. But it was his second union to wife, Ukrainian-born Svetlana, in 2002 that formed a crucial part of the criminal case.

She was living back in Ukraine in 2018 when Smith started stealing secrets. His activities intensified as Russian troops amassed on the border in 2021.

He denied there was a link, even suggesting a disinterest in world politics to the extent that he only got updates from the news, rather than his wife. But his naïve façade did not wash with the judge.

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Smith professed a love of bagpipe music and his Scottish heritage and insisted his allegiances lie with the UK.

“Patriotic? yeah”, he told the court. “I was proud to serve in the RAF.

“The UK in general, but I’m obviously Scottish…”, he added, trailing off at the end.

But it was comments from Smith’s former colleagues in the British embassy in Berlin that revealed a side of him that he was unwilling to admit in the full glare of the criminal court.

Smith had an offensive cartoon of then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel in his locker at work

/ POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“The reason for his hostility to this country is not clear but there is ample evidence that it existed”, said Mr Justice Wall.

“He said things to many people which degraded this country, Germany and the West, and seemed to approve Russia and President Putin.”

In his locker at work, Smith kept a cartoon depicting President Vladimir Putin grasping former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Nazi uniform by the neck, together with the provocative caption: “Russia, please free us once again.” When challenged, Smith for once let his mask of genial calm slip and was momentarily angered that his true character had been revealed.

“It’s a cartoon, for Christ’s sake”, he said, raising his voice. “I found it funny. Maybe I have a twisted sense of humour.”

Seven pints of beer a day

Inspection of Smith’s flat in Potsdam, on the outskirts of Berlin, reveals more about the hobbies and interests of a man prepared to spy for a foreign country.

A large Russian flag is propped up in the corner of the living room, while a Soviet officer’s hat sits proudly atop the bookshelf. Smith had a large collection of militaria, including Soviet uniforms, Nazi memorabilia, a Communist toy Lada car, and a life-size cuddly Russian toy rottweiler dog sporting a military hat. On his bookshelf, works by Sigmund Freud sat next to psychological self-help books, stories of soldiers and young female Russian snipers, and even a novel by Le Carré himself – A Murder of Quality.

COLLECT

Looking closer, as investigators did, they discovered Smith’s burgeoning interest in conspiracy theories from the likes of David Icke, and visits to Alex Jones’ notorious InfoWars website.

Smith told the court he often spent days alone in his apartment, drinking seven pints of beer and consuming vast quantities of information online.

Prince Charles making a speech at Bentley Priory in 2013. Spy David Ballantyne Smith was stationed at the HQ during his career in the RAF

/ PA

He was depressed at the departure of his wife back to Ukraine in 2018, had no real friends in Berlin, and said he left home only to go to and from work.

Fellow RAF serviceman Mark Crossly described Smith – a long-time friend – as “quiet, honest, generous, and caring”, but conceded he was also “introverted”. The charges against Smith came as a surprise to Mr Crossly. But his apartment is seemingly littered with clues to his true identity.

Smith had harboured strong support for Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine, but claimed in court that he is now “neutral”.

The Queen’s art historian Anthony Blunt was revealed as one of the members of the Cambridge Spy Ring

/ PA

While being held in HMP Belmarsh, he was sent merchandise relating to the far-right Azov Battalion in Ukraine, sparking anxious questions about “Nazi sympathies” from the authorities. Smith denied this. But his evidence, the judge concluded, was filled with lies and half-truths.

Snared by undercover mission

Smith sailed under the radar of the authorities in 2018 and 2019, managing to collect a mass of sensitive material from within the embassy.

Photos of officials’ personal details were stored on a USB stick file marked “Berlin Holiday Pics”, in a crude attempt at concealment.

Kim Philby was another member of the Cambridge Spy Ring

/ PA

Smith came to the attention of security services in 2020 with a letter to a Major General at the Russian embassy in Berlin, offering an “update” and more secrets.

Bizarrely, he sent the anonymous letter from a Post Office close to his home in Potsdam, marking it as being sent by an embassy worker.

When investigators found Smith was the only staff member living in that region of Berlin, he instantly became the prime suspect.

David Ballantyne Smith taking a video of the CCTV monitors in the British Embassy security kiosk

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Placed under surveillance and then snared by an undercover operation, Smith easily fell into the trap set for him.

When a Russian defector – in reality a British agent – asked for copies of documents, Smith made a second set for himself. He failed to destroy SIM card packages and was caught on camera taking images from the CCTV of the Russian’s visit.

Days later, a second undercover operative tried to recruit him for Russia, and Smith openly referenced his spymaster contact.

What remains a mystery is how and when Smith received crisp 100 euro bills in payment for his spying, as no evidence has emerged of him using dead letter drops or covert contact with his handler.

Smith was a fan of Alex Jones’ conspiracy theory website InfoWars

/ AP

Smith, in an attempt to minimise his offending, suggested he had collected information ‘on a whim’, filmed inside the embassy while drunk, and had no real purpose for stealing secrets when he did.

So it remains unexplained what information he managed to leak undetected and why he was caught out by amateur mistakes. Was he drunk and sloppy, or emboldened by months of his activities going undetected?

‘Paid for treachery’

Smith will be sentenced on Friday for eight breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

He is a former serviceman who was willing to betray his country for Russia, in a swirling mix of a hidden political agenda, the looming Ukraine war, bitterness at work, heavy drinking, loneliness, and conspiracy theories.

Smith is no James Bond figure. He would make an unlikely character in a John Le Carré novel. But he is nonetheless the real deal: a man who had access, directions from Russian agents, and the willingness to leak intelligence that put people he knew in danger.