Russia: biggest spy threat to Britain

Russia: biggest spy threat to Britain
Sunday Telegraph Link

 

I'd be astonished if we didn't have a similar number of spies in Russia: countries spy on each other as a matter of course. I'm not entirely sure where the moral high ground comes from here.

 

It's the second oldest profession in the world, less the morals of the first...

 

Perhaps the post Cold War world isn't as warm and fuzzy as we once thought

Hopefully this will encourage Len Deighton to write a few more novels.

 

British spies with their magic stones were filmed in Moscow. So it would be logical to suggest that Russian spies operate in London.

 

Surprised at the number. I would have expected it to be higher.
Depends what you class as a spy. Those specifically trained and sent here to ´spy´ or those plus all the people on their payroll who reside in this country. Their are plenty of East European immigrants in the UK. Lots of them without money.
I´m sure they´re easy pickings for the Ruskies. All those innocent looking cleaners with their poor English, snooping through your things after you´ve left the office.....

 

I would hope that we have active intelligence regarding Russia, but the biggest?

I'm not so sure, the US have extensive cold war listening posts in the UK, not all of that 'listening' is aimed outside the UK, I'm sure its might be more industrial espionage, rather than political or military, but is arguably the biggest spy threat to the UK.

Ratcatcher

 

That is fair comment, Comrade, but have there been many incidences of assassination using Polonium 210 in Moscow where the perpetrators are suspected to be MI6? Maybe MI6 use other means...

And you're right, we should always expect foreign agents to operate in our fine capital city. Is London any different to any other capital?

 

It is not clear are Russian secret services ever involved into the poisoning.

Several years ago an American defector died in Moscow due to exhausted gases in his garage. This sort of death could be interpreted as an assasination as well. Though the guy likely committed a suicide.

Let's ask yourselves, why MI6 hadn't killed Philby? Because it was unthinkable to do it from moral point of view or because it was beyond real abilities of MI6?

I'm sure that secret services are voided any moral barriers and returning to the case with mr.Litvinenko it should be said that indeed Russian secret services were in theory able to kill him as a majority of men are able to rape any woman.

 

Sergey, unless you know something that we do not, (not impossible in this situation ) then your post is premature. Why not wait for the investigation to be completed before making this statement. There is a precedent for KGB/FSB/Bulgarian Secret Service assasinations in London (see Georgi Markov).

Re Philby, what's the point of assasinating a drunk? I'm sure that if it had been perceived as necessary, it would have been managed somehow. But you go on thinking that MI6 are useless.

PB

 

You're certainly onto something there, PokerPro! In America, the biggest spy threat for the Septics comes from Israel. Likewise in the UK, I'd suspect the biggest spy threat by far comes from the Septics and not the Ivans.

MsG

 

Good point, plus isn't it as common to spy on 'friends' as 'enemies'? Always surprises me to see those Yanks busted for spying for Israel. I'm sure Britain watches the French as closely to see what wily Gallic schemes they're plotting...

 

OK PassingBells, let's wait for the end of the investigation.

Fair remark. Bulgarians indeed used Soviet made poison against Bulgarian political emmigrant.

I'm sure that MI6 and its 00X's are able to kill even a devil himself (if needed) but it seems to me that all sides of spy community keep to untold and unsigned rule: not to kill defectors because it could cause too many problems.

 

Well, Sergey, I don't think I said that Russian forces poisoned Litvinenko. What I asked was whether there had been poisonings of people in Russia with Polonium 210 which were attributable to MI6?

The enquiry may, or may not, establish the truth. I think it's unlikely that it will really get the whole story. Sponsored assassinations are common enough, anyway, although the 'style' of assassination is often revealing.

So one can only look at the balance of probabilities, and you have to ask who would gain most from Litvinenko's death, do they have the means of arranging it, and are they likely to do it?

 

How many does the US have over here?