Russian espionage in UK 'at Cold War level'
By David Blair, Diplomatic Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:36am BST 09/09/2007
Russia's espionage operation in Britain is operating at the level of the Cold War and involves about half of the staff accredited to its diplomatic missions in London, it has been claimed.
Their tasks range from seeking military and commercial secrets to monitoring Russian dissidents based in London, most notably Boris Berezovsky, the billionaire and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin.
When Britain expelled four Russian diplomats in July - responding to Moscow's failure to hand over the key suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko - the individuals identified for eviction were all believed to be from the SVR, the KGB's successor organisation which is responsible for gathering intelligence overseas.
This move left 62 diplomats accredited to Russia's embassy, consulate and trade mission in London.
Of these, Whitehall sources say that about 30 may have intelligence links. This proportion has probably been constant for decades.
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There are indications that after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, overseas espionage was reduced simply because Russia, then in the grips of an economic crisis, could not afford the cost.
But this blip was shortlived and the Russian espionage operation in Britain probably returned to Cold War levels a decade or more ago.
Mr Putin's increasingly assertive foreign policy means that overseas spying by the SVR has probably been accorded a higher priority in recent months.
The suggestion that about 30 diplomats in London may be involved is significant.
"That is a high number," said Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP who chairs the cross-party parliamentary group on Russia.
"It begs the question of whether the Russians are more interested in diplomacy or in spying on Britain for political and military secrets.
"If it's the latter, it might be in the political interests of President Putin, but it's not in the long term interest of the Russian people."
Russian espionage in UK 'at Cold War level'
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