UK charges guard at Berlin embassy with spying for Russia

LONDON (AP) — A security guard at the British embassy in Berlin has been extradited from Germany and charged with spying for Russia. The Metropolitan Police force said 57-year-old David Ballantyne Smith was sent back to Britain on Wednesday. He faces nine charges under the Official Secrets Act related to “the collection and communication of information useful to the Russian state.” Smith is due to appear in a London court on Thursday. Police say the alleged offenses took place between October 2020 and August 2021, when Smith was arrested. Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said Smith is accused of “providing information to a person he believed was a member of the Russian authorities.”