Three arrested on suspicion of spying on Russia

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of spying on behalf of Russia, Sofia police said.

A 41-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested at Grace, Essex, the power said. A 46-year-old man was arrested at a separate address in the same area.

All three were arrested on suspicion of supporting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to Section 3 of the National Security Act (NSA) 2023, and they were taken to a police station in London.

Met said that the country to which the allegations are referred to is Russia.

The employees have searched the two addresses in the Essex and since then all three people have been released on bails by police with conditions, while the investigation continues to continue, Met said.

CDR Dominic Murphy, leader of Met Terrorism Command, said Met had seen an increasingly large number of people in the UK being recruited by foreign intelligence services.

He added: “Anyone who can contact and be tempted to commit criminal activity on behalf of a foreign country here in the United Kingdom must think again.

“This type of activity will be investigated and anyone found to be involved can expect to be persecuted and potentially there are very serious consequences for the convicts.”