4 ms·

I want to note, the headline keeps changing: From "Germany arrests British citizen on suspicion of espionage" to "British diplomat suspected of spying for Russ

• chrisseaton 5y ago
  > I guess the damage control is in full swing on the British side Maybe they're changing the title as they learn more of the situation? Turned out he wasn't a diplomat (which is also what the German media say), so I guess they corrected the title. And why would you need damage control for an investigation you were involved in yourself? Doesn't make sense as a comment.
  • baybal2 5y ago
    > Maybe they're changing the title as they learn more of the situation? A possibility, but we shouldn't forget that BBC is an official government broadcaster which is sometimes gets very visibly influenced by the British state despite the claim of editorial independence.
    • simonh 5y ago
      It depends what you mean by "official broadcaster". They do not officially speak for or represent the British Government in any way. The BBC is of course mainly made up of British citizens who generally have the interests of the UK in mind, but dynamically editorialising headlines at the behest of the government isn't something we've ever seen happen. It's hard to imagine how that could be done without a lot of people at the BBC knowing about it and getting upset.
    • CalChris 5y ago
      No, BBC is not official. The C stands for corporation. It is a national broadcaster like PBS.
• OJFord 5y ago
  > I guess the damage control is in full swing on the British side I don't think that's warranted? The article reports it as a 'joint operation', you can't really deny or distance yourself much from that. This is the second time today I've seen this suggestion on HN that the UK (/HMG) is somehow 'cosy' with Russia. It seems really off to me? At least since Salisbury, sentiment has been firmly in the other direction in both parliament and popular opinion, afaict.
  • baybal2 5y ago
    > This is the second time today I've seen this sentiment on HN that the UK (/HMG) is somehow 'cosy' with Russia. It seems really off to me? The whole of EU sans the former Eastern Bloc member countries keep "playing games" with rogue states, and repressive regimes. I think, it now goes almost automatic for them to go on the defensive now, when anything like this gets uncovered.
    • iechoz6H 5y ago
      The UK is no longer in the EU.
    • jacquesm 5y ago
      I think you missed a little thing called 'Brexit'.
  • Blikkentrekker 5y ago
    The language of the article also suggests that he is suspected of spying on British sensitive data, not German sensitive data, but it's not too clear. I assume he's not a diplomat, as, as I understand it, diplomatic immunity exists exactly so that diplomats cannot be charged with such allegations, but it is sometimes a bit murky as to what personnel of embassies exactly it extends.
    • akiselev 5y ago
      Diplomatic immunity exists for the benefit of other governments, not the individuals. If there’s any sort of coordination, the guest nation will waive their representatives’ immunity right before official charges are filed.
• jacquesm 5y ago
  This is pretty common with developing stories. As more facts surface the story can be updated, or even withdrawn.