Half of 150,000 Russians living in London are spies, says report

London, Nov 7: It was only a few months ago that the UK had a serious diplomatic tussle with Russia over the latter's alleged poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter on the soil of England. The incident had seen a major rift with both sides expelling each other's diplomats and many other countries, including the US, backed it and blasted the Kremlin.

However, it seems the reason to worry for the English is yet a thing of the past. Tens of thousands of Russians currently living in Britain are spies, a significant report endorsed by a former head of M16, the UK's foreign intelligence service, has warned.

The study from Henry Jackson Society think tank said that there were 75,000 informants in London - which is half the number of Russians (150,000) living in the UK capital - who are actively helping Russia's secret service, the telegraph.co.uk reported.

The study also cautioned about a huge rise in Russian case officials in the UK since 2010, with 200 officials handling about 500 agents.