US Army member arrested in Britain on suspicion of spying for Russia, based at NATO HQ

Britain’s counterterrorism police said Tuesday that they had arrested a member of the US Army on suspicion of spying on behalf of Russia after a joint investigation with the FBI and US military intelligence.

The 41-year-old man was arrested near Gloucester, England, and was in custody pending possible charges, officials said.

Officials did not name the man but said in a statement that he had been detained on suspicion of violating Section 1 and Section 3 of Britain’s National Security Act 2023. Those sections relate to obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service.

The police did not offer any other details, including about what the man was suspected of having done.

But Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of the US Army Counterintelligence Command, said in the police’s statement, “The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent.”

In the police statement, FBI Director Kash Patel is quoted as saying, “This important arrest involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies.”

Patel added, “While this investigation is continuing, I want to send a clear message — this FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners.”

The Metropolitan Police also said in a statement, “The country to which the allegations relate is Russia.”

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The man arrested was based out of the Imjin Barracks at the headquarters of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Gloucestershire, according to a US military official who was briefed on the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive information.

The base is NATO’s largest in Britain and hosts troops from 20 allied nations responsible for rapid response to crises in the alliance.

The counterterrorism police in Britain have investigated several high-profile terrorism cases related to the United States in the past months, including two cases of arrests near air bases in England where the American military operates.

In September, five men were arrested and then later released on bail near Royal Air Force Fairford in southern England. Two Latvian men were arrested in October on suspicion of a national security offense after breaching the perimeter of RAF Molesworth, about 70 miles north of London, in Cambridgeshire, England.

In the statement Tuesday, the police said the arrest of the US Army member on suspicion of espionage was “not linked to any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing investigations.”