Michael John Bettaney was an intelligence officer working in the Counter-espionage branch of MI5

MI5

The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...

 who was convicted at the Old Bailey

Old Bailey

The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...

 in 1984 of offences under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911

Official Secrets Act 1911

The Official Secrets Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Official Secrets Act 1889....

 after passing sensitive documents to the Soviet Embassy in London and attempting to act as an agent-in-place for the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

A graduate of Oxford University, Bettaney was allegedly known for his personal admiration of Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

, singing Horst Wessel Lied in local taverns. One time, while being arrested for public drunkenness, he shouted "You can't arrest me, I'm a spy!" at the arresting officer.

He was vetted for betrayal by internal agents twice, and both times was declared a loyal agent.

While working at the Russia desk of MI5, he took a large number of secret documents home with him from the office, before trying to turn over some selected highlights to Second Secretary of the Russian Embassy, KGB

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

 officer Oleg Gordievsky

Oleg Gordievsky

Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky , CMG , is a former Colonel of the KGB and KGB Resident-designate and bureau chief in London, who was a secret agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1974 to 1985.-Early career:Oleg Gordievsky attended the Moscow State Institute of International...

, who happened to be an MI6 agent infiltrating the Russians and subsequently turned Bettaney over to British authorities.

Bettaney was sentenced to 23 years in prison, and was released on parole in 1998.