Inquiry launched into claims alleged agent had UK passport

Tracey Lee Ann Foley was one of 10 people arrested in the United States by the FBI for allegedly serving for years as secret agents of Russia's intelligence service, the SVR, with the goal of penetrating American government policy-making circles.

Members of the alleged spy ring were involved in long term "deep cover" assignments, the US government claims.

US Department of Justice papers said Foley travelled on a "fraudulent British passport prepared for her by the SVR". She was arrested in Boston on Monday.

Last night, the Foreign Office said: "We are aware that the indictments state that one of the accused has travelled on a UK passport. We will be investigating this fully with the US. We are establishing the facts so it would be wrong to comment further at this stage.

"We remain confident that the British passport is one of the most secure documents of its kind – fully meeting rigorous international standards."

The case echoes revelations earlier this year in which forged British passports were allegedly used by Israeli agents in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

Russia's foreign minister said Moscow was waiting for a US explanation about the arrests.

The 10 arrested are accused of conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of a foreign government.

Eight also face a charge of conspiracy to launder money.

An 11th suspect named "Christopher R Metsos" was arrested yesterday in Cyprus.

It also emerged that one of the 10 was in contact with a subsidiary group of Oxford University.

Donald Howard Heathfield was in regular professional contact with Rafael Ramirez from the Oxford Futures Forum.

Mr Heathfield sold internet security and strategy programmes. He was also arrested in Boston on Monday.

Mr Ramirez yesterday said he had never suspected Mr Heathfield of spying.

He said: "He came across as an American entrepreneur, quite an aggressive American entrepreneur, trying to work internationally.

"I'm either very, very bad at second guessing who is a Russian spy or he hid it very well.

"I certainly never thought of that possibility until somebody told me this morning he had been uncovered as an alleged Russian spy."

Officials in Dublin were also investigating claims that a false Irish passport was to be used by a suspected spy. The Irish Government said officials had been warned about a link to the so-called "deep cover" operation.

The US court papers lift the lid on techniques of subterfuge such as a new high-tech spy-to-spy communications system used by the defendants: short-range wireless communications between laptop computers – a modern supplement for the old-style dead drop in a remote area and high-speed burst radio transmission.

They show the FBI intercepted a message from the headquarters of the SVR.

The alleged spies were asked to learn about a broad sweep of topics including nuclear weapons, US arms control positions, Iran, White House rumours, CIA leadership turnover, the last presidential election, the Congress and political parties.

There was no clue how successful the agents had been, but they were alleged to have been long-term, deep-cover spies, some living as couples.

Deep-cover agents take civilian jobs with no visible connection to a foreign government – one was a reporter, editor and columnist at a New York Spanish-language newspaper.

The arrests come following efforts to thaw US-Russian diplomatic relations and a meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev only last week.

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said: "They haven't explained to us what this is about. I hope they will.

"The only thing I can say today is that the moment for doing that has been chosen with special elegance."

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