MP CAUGHT IN A HONEYTRAP:BLONDE 'SPY' TARGETED WOMANISING LIB DEM ON TRIP TO RUSSIA

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By James Slack and Charlotte Gill 6th December 2010

A womanising MP was targeted by a suspected Russian spy in a Moscow ‘honeytrap’ sting, Whitehall sources believe.

Liberal Democrat Mike Hancock, 64, was introduced to 25-year-old Katia Zatuliveter on one of his regular visits to the Eastern Bloc superpower.

He agreed to give a job and parliamentary pass to the blonde suspected agent – handing her at least three years’ access to official documents on defence policy.

Mr Hancock has also asked dozens of questions about nuclear weapons and other hugely sensitive defence topics to the point where responses by ministers were vetted by the security services.

Among them, he asked for the locations of berths for submarines, a request to publish an inventory of the country’s nuclear arsenal and when the next design review of the Trident warhead will take place.
Blonde temptress: Katia Zatuliveter poses for a holiday snap

Blonde temptress: Katia Zatuliveter poses for a holiday snap

Now, following the intervention of MI5, his glamorous aide is facing deportation on the grounds that her suspected espionage is not ‘conducive to national security’.

Yesterday it emerged that:

■ The suspected spy’s father and sister are both recruiting Russian students to come to Britain.

■ She almost won a post with a large UK defence organisation until British security officials warned the firm off.

■ MPs expressed alarm that she had got her job in the first place and appeared to have sidestepped vetting checks.

■ Security sources fear at least 20 similar spies could be working in Britain under false identities.

The case mirrors that of 28-year-old Russian socialite Anna Chapman, who was arrested by the FBI in the summer and sent back to Russia. She had married a Briton and lived in London before moving to New York.

Whitehall officials insisted last night there was no threat to national security, but conceded that Miss Zatuliveter had access to information which is not available to the public.

Sources say Russia, which has continued a Cold War-style espionage operation in the UK, mistrusts all military information issued by Britain and is determined to check every fact using secret techniques. It is also constantly on the hunt for industrial secrets – such as those provided by Britain’s defence contractors.

Miss Zatuliveter, who is being held at a secure facility awaiting deportation, was picked up by the UK Border Agency on Thursday morning in what appears to be the first case since the Cold War of a Russian agent being removed from the Houses of Parliament. Her detention was approved by Home Secretary Theresa May.

Mr Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South, said: ‘I have no reason to believe she did anything but act honourably during the time she was working for me.

‘She genuinely believes, and I back her 100 per cent, that she has nothing to hide and has done nothing wrong. She is not a Russian spy.’
Flower power: An earlier image of Miss Zatuliveter

Flower power: An earlier image of Miss Zatuliveter

Mr Hancock is on police bail after being arrested over an alleged indecent assault on a female constituent earlier this year.

Government officials believe the Russian security services pinpointed the MP because of his defence interests and his reputation as a womaniser. Miss Zatuliveter was sent to meet him, it is suspected, in a classic ‘honeytrap’ sting. Well-placed sources confirm the pair first met in Russia.

She underwent security vetting before starting work as Mr Hancock’s researcher. During her time with him, she has drafted many reports on defence as well as other issues.

One Westminster source said: ‘She would walk around in very short skirts and high heels with Hancock and they would be seen having lunch together. Certainly some thought she was charming and intelligent.’

Miss Zatuliveter is suspected of working for Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR, as a ‘sleeper’.

A Whitehall source said: ‘There was unhappiness about what she could have access to. The intention is to show her the door.’

Security officials are clear there is no suspicion whatsoever that Mr Hancock was aware he was working with a spy. One said: ‘This is all about her.’

The move to deport Miss Zatuliveter, whose sister Polina is married to a British businessman and lives in Lancashire, comes after she was stopped while re-entering Britain at Gatwick in August.

Before releasing her, security officials questioned her extensively about her activities for Mr Hancock.

Her father, Andrei, is listed as Russian representative of a British company called Choices (Northern UK) of which his son-in-law – Polina’s husband Andrew Cowburn – is a director.

His role appears to be to recruit wealthy students for enrolment to private schools and universities especially in northern England.

At his home in the Stavropol region of southern Russia yesterday, Mr Zatuliveter said: ‘Katia called me to say that she is appealing against the deportation order.
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‘She is in a state of shock as she has no idea why all this is happening to her. She has been working in Britain – not spying. This is all I can say.’

He also denied reports that he had any links to the KGB.

During the summer Miss Zatuliveter was shortlisted to the last three candidates to work for a large UK defence organisation.

So certain was she of success that Mr Hancock’s department advertised her job and received 300 applications. But it is understood that, in August, security officers briefed the company relaying their concerns and the job offer was withdrawn.

The deportation is likely to put further strain on diplomatic relations with Russia, which deteriorated after the poison murder of dissident spy Alexander Litvinenko in London four years ago.

Miss Zatuliveter came to the UK three years ago to study for a masters degree in peace studies at Bradford University. Her name is on reports drafted for Mr Hancock as long ago as December 2007.

In recent weeks a number of questions relating to defence have been issued to government departments from the MP’s office, including details of nuclear material outside international safeguards and the locations of all submarine bases worldwide.

Ministers declined to answer some of the questions.

MI5 remains concerned about the large number of Russian visitors who, like Miss Zatuliveter, come to this country on working or tourist visas.

Kim Howells, the former Labour MP who headed the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, said there needed to be much sharper vetting of parliamentary assistants.

‘I think the Foreign Office and intelligence services are acutely aware of this threat and I think they are going to be looking at making more funding available for the security services to tackle this kind of threat. I hope they are anyway.’

■ Do you know Katia Zatuliveter? Contact the Daily Mail newsdesk on 0207 938 6154
'Not God's gift to women': Mike Hancock near his home yesterday

'Not God's gift to women': Mike Hancock near his home yesterday