Scots spy in Berlin turned traitor for Russia while consuming conspiracy theories

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots spy David Ballantyne Smith was a lonely ex-serviceman who turned traitor while consuming online conspiracy theories and pro-Putin propaganda, the Old Bailey heard.Born in Paisley in Scotland, the 58-year-old spent 12 years in the RAF before moving to Crawley in West Sussex and getting jobs at Gatwick Airport.

He has a grown-up daughter by an earlier relationship and had been married to his second wife Svetlana for 20 years, the Old Bailey was told.

Smith told the court he was a patriotic Scot and had been proud to serve his country before his life went "downhill" after getting a job at the British Embassy in Berlin as a security guard.He claimed he turned to drink and became depressed and lonely after his Ukrainian wife went back to the war-torn eastern region in her home country.He expressed an interest in online conspiracy theories, saying: "I look at David Icke and Alex Jones' InfoWars to get an alternative view.

I just like both sides of the story."Smith said he had been a supporter of Russian-backed Donbas separatists but said he changed his mind and became "neutral" after visiting cemeteries and seeing lines of freshly dug graves in 2019.A life-long collector of military memorabilia, Smith's support for Russia appeared to be on prominent show in his home in Potsdam.His living room was stuffed with Russian books and ornaments including a Russian Federation flag, Soviet military hat and a life-sized cuddly Russian toy Rottweiler and Communist toy Lada car.Inside his work locker was a cartoon of Russian president Vladimir Putin with his hands around former German chancellor Angela Merkel in Nazi uniform espousing the false rhetoric used to invade Ukraine.After his arrest, Smith continued to collect military