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Two men and a woman have been arrested in Essex on suspicion of assisting the Russian intelligence service, the Metropolitan Police has said.

A 41-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were arrested at the same address in Grays. A 46-year-old man was arrested nearby.

All three have been released on bail.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s counterterrorism unit, said: “We’re seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as ‘proxies’ being recruited by foreign intelligence services."

“Two young British men are awaiting sentencing after they were recruited by the Wagner Group — effectively the Russian state — to carry out an arson at Ukrainian-linked warehouse. They are facing potentially lengthy custodial sentences, although, to be clear, today’s arrests are in no way connected to that investigation."

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“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.”

Arrests come as Trump lands in UK for second state visit

The far right has clung to the narrative that anti-migrant protests and mass flag operations are being run by everyday Brits, consisting of ‘concerned parents’ and mild-mannered patriots. Protesters claim they oppose immigration due to the supposed increase in crime which comes from allowing people seeking asylum into the community; they are not racist, they are simply concerned about local people.

However, HOPE not hate can reveal that many of the individuals leading anti-migrant movements possess their own criminal records and are perfectly comfortable with threatening or enacting violence on locals who disagree with their views. Organisers of Operation Raise the Colours have quickly shown their true intentions in a flurry of racist abuse and property damage. Clearly, criminality only worries these ‘local residents’ when the perpetrator is not white.

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John Miller and his associate Cui Guanghai were being held in Serbia for extradition to the United States but removed their electronic tags and escaped.

A businessman from Kent accused of spying for China and plotting to smuggle sensitive military technology to the People’s Liberation Army has escaped house arrest in Serbia along with his alleged handler while awaiting extradition to the US.

John Miller, 63, was arrested in April along with Cui Guanghai, 43, a Chinese citizen who was based in the US, while on a business trip in Belgrade, at the request of the FBI after a sting operation.

The High Court in Belgrade told The Times that Miller, a recruitment specialist from Tunbridge Wells, and Cui, a Chinese government official, who were staying in separate flats and were banned from leaving their properties, removed their electronic tags and fled.

It is unclear when the pair fled, but the court issued an arrest warrant for the pair on August 15, and the authorities do not know if they are still in Serbia.

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Just 6 days after Starmer met Herzog, the UN names the Israeli president as having "incited the commission of genocide"