A 41-year-old United States Army soldier was arrested in the United Kingdom on Tuesday on suspicion of espionage related to Russia, according to London's Metropolitan Police. The unnamed soldier was arrested by British counterterror police "working closely with US authorities, US Military and the FBI," the force said in a statement. He remains in custody at a London police station.
The man was arrested near Gloucester on Tuesday, November 10, on suspicion of offences under Section 1 and Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. Section 1 concerns obtaining or disclosing protected information, and Section 3 concerns assisting a foreign intelligence service. As part of the investigation, officers are carrying out searches at two locations in Gloucestershire. "The country to which the allegations relate is Russia," police said.
A senior NATO official told CNN the soldier was assigned to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, a British-led NATO corps based in Gloucester, at Imjin Barracks. A U.S. official said the soldier is a field grade Army officer — a mid- to senior-ranking officer holding the rank of major, lieutenant colonel or colonel. Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, commanding general of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, described the suspect as a "senior soldier" who was "entrusted with sensitive information."
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest "involves allegations of espionage," calling it an "important arrest" that is "of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies." Investigators told The Washington Post that no sensitive information was passed to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that Russia has "no connection to this whatsoever, and it has no connection to us." The Metropolitan Police said the case is "not linked to any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing investigations" — including the suspected Iran-linked plot at a U.S.-run base in Britain, RAF Fairford, in September. Under the National Security Act, police can hold the man without charge for up to 14 days.
The arrest comes amid heightened concern over threats to American forces stationed in Britain and tension between Moscow and much of Europe. The United States recently moved military aircraft from British bases after reported threats from Iran, a separate development in a fast-moving security picture for U.S. forces in the country.
