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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.”