LONDON

Three men have been arrested in London under the National Security Act on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence services.

The Metropolitan Police said on Thursday that the men, aged 48, 45, and 44, were detained at addresses in west and central London. Searches are continuing at those locations as well as at another address in west London, the force confirmed.

All three were arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act (NSA) 2023. The country to which the alleged offenses relate is Russia, police said.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “We’re seeing an increasing number of (people) who we would describe as ‘proxies’ being recruited by foreign intelligence services, and these arrests are directly related to our ongoing efforts to disrupt this type of activity.

“Anyone who might be contacted by and tempted into carrying out criminal activity on behalf of a foreign state here in the UK should think again.

“This kind of activity will be investigated and anyone found to be involved can expect to be prosecuted and there are potentially very serious consequences for those who are convicted.”