British police have arrested a senior member of the United States military on suspicion of spying for Russia following an investigation by counterterrorism officials, marking the latest instance of alleged espionage in the West linked to Moscow.
A 41-year-old man was arrested near Gloucester on suspicion of offences under Section 1 and Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, according to a statement by London Metropolitan Police.
Section 1 of the Act relates to obtaining or disclosing protected information, while Section 3 relates to assisting a foreign intelligence service.
“As part of the investigation, officers are carrying out searches at two locations in Gloucestershire. The country to which the allegations relate is Russia,” the statement read.
So far, not much information is available about the soldier who was arrested.
The BBC reported on Tuesday that the soldier was based at the Imjin Barracks in Innsworth, Gloucestershire.
Those barracks serve as the base for NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), which is a strategic operational base for the military alliance.
The man has been detained under the National Security Act 2023, which allows police to hold him without charge for 14 days, the Metropolitan Police said, adding that Counter Terrorism Police London were leading the investigation.
Under British law, police generally do not publish the names of suspects before they have been charged, except in exceptional circumstances.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Britain’s Counter Terrorism Policing, said the arrest and investigation resulted from “close collaboration between UK and US authorities”.
“The allegations are serious and our investigation is very much ongoing. This activity demonstrates the strength of our UK and US law enforcement and national security partnerships, and I commend the work of all the teams involved. We will work together to take robust action against those we suspect of any criminal activity that could undermine our national security.”
The investigation into the US soldier is not connected to any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing investigations, according to the Metropolitan Police.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest involved allegations of espionage which are of the “utmost concern” to the US and its allies.
“While this investigation is continuing, I want to send a clear message – this FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners,” Patel said.
He said that the FBI had made 167 arrests in counterintelligence and espionage-related cases over the last 21 months – a 53 percent increase over the comparable previous period.
Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command, said the case demonstrated the strength of the UK-US partnership.
“I am grateful to the UK and the FBI for their professionalism and teamwork throughout this investigation. The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent. I encourage anyone who thinks they’ve witnessed something suspicious to report it to their local counterintelligence office,” he said.
This is believed to be the first time a US soldier was found to be under suspicion of spying for a foreign government while in the UK.
However, espionage allegations have grown in recent months.
In October, British police arrested three men on suspicion of helping Russian intelligence under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023.
A month before, three people — two men and a woman — were arrested on suspicion of spying for Moscow.
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s biggest backers since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and relations between London and Moscow are at their lowest.
However, even before the Ukraine war, Russian intelligence had played a role in London. In 2006, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in the capital and in 2018, there was an attempted plot to poison double agent Sergei Skripal.
