Vanya Gaberova, 30, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of being part of a spy ring which targeted people and places of interest to the Russian state over three years.

It is alleged she befriended Christo Grozev on Facebook to get close to the journalist who uncovered Russian involvement in the 2018 Salisbury Novichok poisoning.

Under cross-examination she insisted she knew nothing of the carefully planned operation against Mr Grozev, telling jurors: “Seeing all of this now, I was lied to, manipulated, used, exposed.”

READ MORE: Norfolk-based Russian spy ring linked to ‘highest echelons’........

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