A senior US soldier was arrested in Britain on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence, British police said on Tuesday. The 41 year old man was detained near Gloucester in western England on suspicion of offences under sections 1 and 3 of the National Security Act, which relate to obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service, and police said the country to which the allegations relate is Russia and that the arrest is not linked to any other ongoing counter terrorism policing investigations.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest related to allegations of espionage, and Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command, said the alleged conduct of a senior soldier entrusted with sensitive information was a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent. The arrest came the day after the US removed refuelling aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in eastern England, a move the Wall Street Journal reported was prompted by a threat from Iran, a separate matter from the espionage allegations.