US Army names lieutenant colonel held in Britain over alleged Russian espionage

An official of the US Army on 13 November identified Lt Col Brandon Carroll Tyner as the American soldier arrested earlier this week in the United Kingdom over allegations that he assisted Russian intelligence. Defense News reported the identification, which followed earlier accounts that had described the suspect only as a US service member.

Tyner, who is 41, entered the Army in January 2008 as a human resources officer, the official told Military Times, according to Defense News. His deployments included tours in Afghanistan, Qatar and Iraq. At the time of the arrest he was assigned to Imjin Barracks near Gloucester, England, the garrison that hosts the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

US and British officials said he was taken into custody on Tuesday near Gloucester. Defense News reported that he was arrested under Sections 1 and 3 of Britain's 2023 National Security Act. Stars and Stripes, citing officials, said the suspicion covers assisting a foreign intelligence service and obtaining or disclosing protected information. Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the investigation, Tyner remained in custody at a London police station, and the Army said two locations in Gloucestershire were being examined.

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel, described the case as involving espionage allegations that are of great concern to the United States and its allies, and referred to 167 counterintelligence and espionage arrests over the previous 21 months. Brig Gen Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command, said the alleged conduct of a senior soldier who had been entrusted with sensitive information underlined that insider threats have not gone away, and encouraged anyone who thinks they have seen something suspicious to report it to a local counterintelligence office.

A US official told the Associated Press, as reported by Stars and Stripes, that no information had reached Russian hands, and that the Army intends to pursue the case after the British proceedings conclude. US officials cited in that reporting said Tyner is expected to face charges on Sunday or Monday. ABC News, which identified Tyner on 12 November, similarly reported that British authorities are expected to bring charges in the coming days and that the Army may take its own action later.

The Kremlin has denied any link to the case. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on Wednesday that the arrest did not concern Russia and that Moscow did not know what it was connected to. That claim has not been independently confirmed.

British officials said the arrest was not connected to other counterterrorism investigations under way in the United Kingdom, Stars and Stripes reported. US and British authorities have not released further details of the alleged conduct or of any possible motive. ABC News said it remains unclear exactly what Tyner is accused of doing.

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps is a multinational headquarters, led by the British Army, that prepares plans for ground forces in a crisis, according to ABC News. The same report said recent US military espionage convictions have more often involved junior or mid-level personnel, while noting that it remains unclear what information Tyner could access.