Germany’s top former spy leaked British secrets, MI6 fears
Former BND chief August Hanning has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets and attempted treason. MI6 and GCHQ are reviewing sensitive information shared with European allies to assess whether British intelligence or its sources may have been compromised.
Prosecutors allege that Hanning received about 2,000 documents from former aide Manfred D., many marked for internal use by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service. They say Hanning used classified intelligence to prepare an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer, though it is unclear whether it reached them; reports have also raised a possible link to Azerbaijan.
- Former BND chief August Hanning has been arrested in Germany.
- MI6 and GCHQ are reviewing intelligence shared with European allies.
- Prosecutors allege about 2,000 documents were passed to Hanning.
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August Hanning was the chief of the BND, Germany's main intelligence service, until he stepped down in 2021. He has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of espionage, treason and attempting to obtain state secrets.
Prosecutors allege that Hanning received about 2,000 classified documents from a former aide, Manfred D., who worked at the German intelligence service. According to prosecutors, Hanning used some of these secret documents to prepare an intelligence analysis that he allegedly intended to pass to a foreign intelligence officer.
British intelligence is concerned because Hanning had access to sensitive secrets shared between the UK and Germany during his time as intelligence chief. MI6 and GCHQ are reviewing information they gave to Germany to determine whether British operations or sources may have been put at risk.