Russian spy ‘infiltrated’ Britain’s intelligence community

The refugee from Afghanistan met David Cameron, Gordon Brown and the future king.

The refugee from Afghanistan says MI5 has accused him of being groomed by Russia since the age of five

An alleged Russian spy lied to gain asylum in Britain before going on to work for the Foreign Office and meet the future king, The Times has learnt.

The refugee from Afghanistan, who is accused of spying for Russia’s military intelligence agency, also worked for GCHQ and MI6, a court was told. He worked under two prime ministers and met Prince Charles and Prince William on visits to Afghanistan while working for the British government. He ultimately obtained Russian and British citizenship.

The alleged spy was stripped of his British citizenship in 2019 after MI5, the security service, concluded that he was an agent for the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency accused of orchestrating the nerve agent attack in Salisbury a year earlier.

The government believes he is a risk to national security.

The alleged spy, who can be identified only as C2, denies being an agent or that he poses any risk but has revealed during court proceedings that MI5 has accused him of being groomed as a Russian asset since the age of five.

He is appealing against the government’s decision to strip him of his British citizenship in a hearing before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. The court deals with sensitive immigration, asylum and citizenship cases relating to national security.

C2 entered Britain in 2000 and was given asylum after claiming that he was fleeing the Taliban and had come directly from Afghanistan, even though he had lived for six years in Moscow.

He claims he went on to work for GCHQ, MI6, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and more. The SIAC has been told he had access to “top secret” documents while working for the British government in Britain and Afghanistan.

The revelations are embarrassing for the British government, considering the access given to the alleged spy while the threat from Russia was steadily growing. In recent years, senior security officials have repeatedly warned of a campaign of influence and spying that has been exerted by Russia. This year, five people accused of being part of a Russian spy ring that carried out surveillance in Britain will face trial at the Old Bailey in London.

The findings also follow long-running security concerns over a lack of rigour and scrutiny in the asylum system after a series of ­applicants lied about or exaggerated their circumstances to be able to stay in Britain.

C2 told the court on Tuesday that he had admitted to GCHQ that he had lied on his asylum application. He claims that when he applied to GCHQ, he was given “developed vetting”, the most advanced form of security clearance.

The government denies this and has refused to confirm whether he was ever employed by security services. This is a routine government policy.

He said after leaving GCHQ, he worked as a contractor for other government departments and NATO before taking up a position in Afghanistan with the Foreign Office, the court was told.

When David Cameron visited the country as prime minister, C2 met him and rubbed shoulders with him at events.

C2 spent more than a decade in Afghanistan working first for the British government then in both the public and private sectors, during which he was in close contact with Russian officials and the coalition forces. Among those officials were two Russian military attaches who, the court was told, were GRU officers. He admitted in court paying cash bribes to them, passing commercial information and sharing nude images of women. Addressing C2 in court, judge Robert Jay said: “I think it is being suggested to you that you would have to be pretty naive to think that someone like him was not a Russian military agent.”

He was stripped of his citizenship in 2019 after the security services became suspicious. On a visit to his family in London, he was interviewed by MI5 and accused of being an agent of the GRU. He claims MI5 told him that he had been groomed from the age of five to be a GRU agent.

He returned to Afghanistan and was informed later that year that he had been deprived of his British citizenship.

C2 denies the allegations that he worked for the GRU, and says his contact with the two Russian military attaches was innocent. He maintains that he never knew they had an intelligence role. The hearing continues.

The Times