UK offers Russian officials British citizenship to pass secrets to MI6

Russian officials appalled by the war in Ukraine are being offered British citizenship to defect and pass secrets to UK intelligence agencies.

British citizenship and cash payments are being used by UK government agencies in certain circumstances to persuade disgruntled members of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s regime to hand information to the UK, three UK intelligence sources and a former Russian informant have told i news.

It comes after the head of MI6 last year issued a public plea to Russians angry with the invasion to “join hands” with the UK and “share secrets” to help end the war in Ukraine.

The use of citizenship to reward informants has been in place since at least the Cold War, illustrated by the case of well-known Russian defectors such as Oleg Gordievsky. But i has established that the tactic has been in use since the invasion of Ukraine, with official sources accepting that it is no longer confidential.