A 41-year-old U.S. Army serviceman was arrested near Gloucester in southwest England on November 10, 2026, on suspicion of spying for Russia.
London’s Metropolitan Police stated that the senior serviceman was detained under section one and section three of the National Security Act 2023.
Section one addresses obtaining or disclosing protected information. Section three covers assisting a foreign intelligence service.
British authorities announced the development on November 10. The unnamed individual was taken into custody following an operation in the southwestern region of England before being transferred to a London police station.
According to Counter Terrorism Policing London, the suspect was based at Imjin Barracks in Innsworth, Gloucestershire.
The installation serves as the headquarters for NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, operating as a strategic operational base for the alliance. Law enforcement officers conducted searches at two separate locations in Gloucestershire as the inquiry proceeded.
Senior US soldier arrested in UK on suspicion of spying for Russia https://t.co/sBo8H4o5CE
British and American authorities coordinated the operation, with London’s counterterrorism forces working in close partnership with the FBI and the U.S. military.
FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the case in a statement, expressing gratitude to UK Counter Terrorism Policing, MI5, UK Defence Counter Intelligence, and U.S. partners for their cooperation.
This important arrest involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies.
Kash Patel, FBI Director
Patel added that the agency recorded 167 counterintelligence and espionage arrests over the preceding 21 months, marking a 53 per cent increase.
This FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners.
Kash Patel, FBI Director
Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, commented on the case.
The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent.
Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, commanding general of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command
Police confirmed that the operation is separate from other ongoing investigations in the United Kingdom, indicating no connection to a suspected plot linked to Iran in September at the British Royal Air Force base near Gloucester, RAF Fairford, which hosts the U.S. Air Force.
Following that earlier threat, the U.S. Air Force withdrew bombers that had been utilized during the Middle East conflict.
🔴 Senior US soldier arrested by British police for ‘spying for Russia’https://t.co/mfzEEbwg1k