Ex-official says Britain used fake rock to spy on Russia
A former British official has admitted for the first time that Britain did use a fake rock fitted with electronic equipment to spy on Russia, Radio Liberty reported.
Russia accused British diplomats in January 2006 of using the transmitter hidden in a Moscow park to receive intelligence from Russian agents.
The British government has previously declined to discuss the incident which first emerged in a Russian television broadcast.
Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, said in a BBC television documentary to be broadcast on January 19 that Russia had known about the hidden transmitter for some time and used it for political purposes.
Shortly after the incident was revealed, Vladimir Putin, Russian president at the time, introduced a law restricting all foreign funding for NGOs.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!