London, Yiannis Haniotakis

Three men have been arrested in London on suspicion of aiding a foreign intelligence agency in a case authorities say involves Russia.

The arrests of the three men, aged 48, 45 and 44, took place on Thursday 23 October in west and central London as part of a wide-ranging counter-terrorism operation.

The charges relate to breaching the National Security Act, with those arrested being taken to a police station in the British capital.

Authorities are continuing to search the addresses where the three men were arrested, as well as an additional address in west London.

Dominic Murphy, head of London’s counter-terrorism agency, said: “We are seeing an increasing number of what we would describe as ‘proxies’ being recruited by foreign intelligence agencies.”

He issued a warning to anyone who might be tempted to carry out criminal activity on behalf of a foreign state in the UK, saying they should “think again. This type of activity will be investigated and anyone found involved can expect to be prosecuted, and there are potentially very serious consequences for those convicted.”