UK police arrest three men suspected of Russia-linked spying
British police have arrested three men on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service in a case linked to Russia, authorities said on Thursday.
The suspects — aged 48, 45, and 44 — were detained at addresses in west and central London, which are now being searched. The Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Dominic Murphy, head of Counter-Terrorism Policing London, said the arrests reflect efforts to disrupt “an increasing number of proxies being recruited by foreign intelligence services.”
The arrests were made under the National Security Act (2023), which expanded prosecutors’ powers to bring espionage-related charges.
The development follows the recent sentencing of six men involved in an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in east London — a plot prosecutors said was carried out at the behest of Russia’s Wagner Group.
The Kremlin has denied involvement, accusing Britain of “blaming Russia for anything bad that happens.”
Last week, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said authorities had disrupted “a steady stream of Russian surveillance plots” targeting individuals seen as enemies of Moscow.
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