Vladmir Putin has up to 75,000 Russian spies in Britain, shock report reveals
Dr Andrew Foxall revealed up to half of the 150,000 Russian ex-pats in Britain are feared to be spy service 'assets'
RUSSIA has up to 75,000 spies on our streets, a shock report claimed yesterday.
Vladimir Putin’s army of spooks has risen five-fold in eight years, with 200 “case officers” each handling hundreds of agents, it warned.
Kremlin espionage expert Dr Andrew Foxall said up to half of the 150,000 Russian expats in Britain are feared to be “assets”.
Many have links to spy agencies including KGB replacement, the FSB, or the GRU,behind the Salisbury poisoning in March.
As many as half of all Russian Embassy diplomats are also actively engaged in intelligence work, the report claimed.
The Russian spy force is 52 times that of the UK. It sparked fears Britain’s Warnings Index — used by border chiefs to flag up spies — has proved ineffective.
Dr Foxall said agents are not just “assassins” but “part of a broad and malevolent effort to undermine our society”.
He interviewed Russian expats in the UK who believe they are increasingly being followed.
They included investor Vladimir Ashurkov, who met a pal for coffee in London then discovered Russian intelligence had eavesdropped.
Spies regularly pop up at meetings of rich Russians in London, the Henry Jackson Society think tank report claimed.
Novichok diner reopens
ZIZZI is set to reopen its Salisbury restaurant today, eight months after the Novichok poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
The former Russian spy and his daughter ate there hours before being discovered unconscious from the attack in March.
Zizzi boss Phil Boyd said it had been a “difficult” time, adding: “We were concerned about the welfare of our staff, to our relief everyone was well.”
A “pay what you like” offer is on the menu for the relaunch, with all proceeds going to Salisbury charities.
Ex-MI6 director general Sir Richard Dearlove said yesterday: “Russian intelligence activity is still large-scale and intrusive.
“We need to devote significant resources and expertise to monitoring and blunting this threat.”
The report wants to “shine a light” on the threat and cut Russian media access to Parliament.
Swarm of spies
THE extent of Russian spying in the UK is jaw-dropping and appalling.
Even if the estimate by espionage expert Dr Andrew Foxall was out by a factor of five, the total of Kremlin informants on our streets is wildly and dangerously out of control.
His report claims there are 75,000 “assets” working for Putin. That’s up to half of all Russian expats in London and vastly more than Britain has in Moscow. It puts our expulsion of just 23 of their diplomats after the Salisbury outrage into perspective.
MI5 and the National Crime Agency are doing their best. But it is clear we are failing to stop spies arriving or to kick them out when identified.
More must be expelled. Russia’s TV propaganda station RT must be taken off air. Putin’s oligarch pals must face a crackdown, including the seizure of their mansions or other assets they cannot explain. We want Britain to be the investment capital of the world, not a laundry for dirty money.
The Kremlin must learn that there is a price to pay for undermining UK security on this vast scale.
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