<p>David Smith, a British national, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for&nbsp;betraying his nation and colleagues by selling information to Russia while working as a security guard at&nbsp;the British&nbsp;embassy in Berlin.&nbsp;Smith, allegedly&nbsp;started gathering confidential papers in 2018.&nbsp;In 2020, he wrote two letters to top Russian embassy employees, one of which included the name and contact information of a former diplomat called X who had served in Russia, said a report&nbsp;in the Guardian.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Authorities opened an inquiry after identifying Smith as the writer of the second letter sent in November 2020 to a military envoy at the Russian embassy. Two players were used as a fictitious Russian defector and intelligence officer in an undercover sting operation in August 2021.</p>

<p>Police discovered Smith's cache of critical and confidential documents after his arrest, including letters from ministers to the previous prime minister&nbsp;Boris Johnson.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/who-is-george-soros-who-broke-uks-central-bank-what-he-said-on-pm-modi-adani-know-all-his-controversies-563116">Who is George Soros who broke UK's central bank? What he said on PM Modi &amp; Adani? Know all his controversies</a></p>

<p>By acting in a way that endangered state security or other interests, Smith, 58, admitted guilt to eight offences brought under the Official Secrets Act.</p>

<p>In a televised sentencing at the Old Bailey on Friday, the judge sentenced Smith&nbsp;to 13 years and two months.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;UK: King Charles faces 'Not My King' protest during walkabout</strong></p>

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<p>The senior judge said that during Smith’s “subversive activities”, dating back to 2018, he had duplicated a “significant amount of material”.</p>

<p>“You were fully aware that you should not have copied any of these documents and equally aware that were these documents to get into the wrong hands, they might harm British interests or pose a threat to those working at the British embassy," the judge said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Smith said that he was a proud Scot and that he was now "ashamed" of his actions. He said that once his Ukrainian wife of 20 years left for her native country, he became enraged at his employer, sad, and was drinking seven pints every day, reported Guardian.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE:</strong></p>

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David Smith, a British national, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for betraying his nation and colleagues by selling information to Russia while working as a security guard at the British embassy in Berlin.

David Smith, a British national, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for betraying his nation and colleagues by selling information to Russia while working as a security guard at the British embassy in Berlin. Smith, allegedly started gathering confidential papers in 2018. In 2020, he wrote two letters to top Russian embassy employees, one of which included the name and contact information of a former diplomat called X who had served in Russia, said a report in the Guardian. Authorities opened an inquiry after identifying Smith as the writer of the second letter sent in November 2020 to a military envoy at the Russian embassy. Two players were used as a fictitious Russian defector and intelligence officer in an undercover sting operation in August 2021. Police discovered Smith's cache of critical and confidential documents after his arrest, including letters from ministers to the previous prime minister Boris Johnson. ALSO READ | Who is George Soros who broke UK's central bank? What he said on PM Modi & Adani? Know all his controversies By acting in a way that endangered state security or other interests, Smith, 58, admitted guilt to eight offences brought under the Official Secrets Act. In a televised sentencing at the Old Bailey on Friday, the judge sentenced Smith to 13 years and two months. ALSO WATCH | UK: King Charles faces 'Not My King' protest during walkabout The senior judge said that during Smith’s “subversive activities”, dating back to 2018, he had duplicated a “significant amount of material”. “You were fully aware that you should not have copied any of these documents and equally aware that were these documents to get into the wrong hands, they might harm British interests or pose a threat to those working at the British embassy," the judge said. Smith said that he was a proud Scot and that he was now "ashamed" of his actions. He said that once his Ukrainian wife of 20 years left for her native country, he became enraged at his employer, sad, and was drinking seven pints every day, reported Guardian. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

British guard turns Russian spy: David Smith sentenced to 13 years in prison for leaking data to Russia

US Embassy and British High Commission in Pakistan have cautioned employees not to visit the Marriott in Islamabad amid terror attack warning. A notice has been issued for the same. Watch further to know more.

Imtiaz Gul, Senior Journalist on US embassy issuing security alert for visiting Islamabad's Marriott

<p>At the British embassy in Jordan, a former rescue cat is settling into his new position as chief mouser - as a traditional well established in the ministries of London goes global.</p>

<p>&quot;Lawrence of Abdoun&quot;&nbsp;is a fluffy black-and-white tom who, according to his Twitter feed, reports directly to the Foreign Office&rsquo;s Palmerston, a cat that delights his 57,000 followers with regular updates from the ministry in Whitehall via @DiploMog.</p>

<p>Lawrence, named after TE&nbsp;Lawrence, a British military officer who fought alongside Arabs against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, has already gained 2,500 followers since being adopted from an animal shelter last month.</p>

<p>Abdoun is the neighbourhood of Amman where the embassy is located.</p>

<p>&quot;Apart from his mousing duties, he reaches out to followers on Twitter. What&rsquo;s quite interesting is the British public are seeing the UK embassy in Jordan in a different light,&quot;&nbsp;said Deputy Ambassador Laura Dauban.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&rdquo;Through Lawrence&rsquo;s Twitter account we&rsquo;re trying to show a different side to Jordan, what it is really like, a peaceful, prosperous country that British tourists should come and visit.&rdquo;</p>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Understanding the country is vital for any ambassadorial <a href="https://twitter.com/DiploMog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@diplomog</a>, but also for visitors! Have you subscribed to my team&rsquo;s travel advice for Jordan? <a href="https://t.co/Aaxo18Y7Uv">https://t.co/Aaxo18Y7Uv</a> <a href="https://t.co/RYXSKHYT81">pic.twitter.com/RYXSKHYT81</a></p>
&mdash; Lawrence of Abdoun (@LawrenceDipCat) <a href="https://twitter.com/LawrenceDipCat/status/931542050654380038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Tweeting under the name @LawrenceDipCat, Lawrence has discovered the perils of social media, and has even been fat-shamed by trolls.</p>

<p>&quot;He&rsquo;s been a bit upset because some people have said he looked a bit fat in the last tweet he did, so he&rsquo;ll be doing some exercises and posting to sort of rectify that situation,&quot;&nbsp;Dauban said.&nbsp;<strong> </strong></p>


'Lawrence of Abdoun' is a fluffy black-and-white tom who, according to his Twitter feed, reports directly to the Foreign Office?s Palmerston, a cat with 57,000 Twitter followers

At the British embassy in Jordan, a former rescue cat is settling into his new position as chief mouser - as a traditional well established in the ministries of London goes global. "Lawrence of Abdoun" is a fluffy black-and-white tom who, according to his Twitter feed, reports directly to the Foreign Office’s Palmerston, a cat that delights his 57,000 followers with regular updates from the ministry in Whitehall via @DiploMog. Lawrence, named after TE Lawrence, a British military officer who fought alongside Arabs against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, has already gained 2,500 followers since being adopted from an animal shelter last month. Abdoun is the neighbourhood of Amman where the embassy is located. "Apart from his mousing duties, he reaches out to followers on Twitter. What’s quite interesting is the British public are seeing the UK embassy in Jordan in a different light," said Deputy Ambassador Laura Dauban. ”Through Lawrence’s Twitter account we’re trying to show a different side to Jordan, what it is really like, a peaceful, prosperous country that British tourists should come and visit.” Understanding the country is vital for any ambassadorial @diplomog, but also for visitors! Have you subscribed to my team’s travel advice for Jordan? https://t.co/Aaxo18Y7Uv pic.twitter.com/RYXSKHYT81 — Lawrence of Abdoun (@LawrenceDipCat) November 17, 2017 × Tweeting under the name @LawrenceDipCat, Lawrence has discovered the perils of social media, and has even been fat-shamed by trolls. "He’s been a bit upset because some people have said he looked a bit fat in the last tweet he did, so he’ll be doing some exercises and posting to sort of rectify that situation," Dauban said.

British embassy cat in Jordan appointed chief mouser

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British guard turns Russian spy: David Smith sentenced to 13 years in prison for leaking data to Russia

Imtiaz Gul, Senior Journalist on US embassy issuing security alert for visiting Islamabad's Marriott

British embassy cat in Jordan appointed chief mouser