Britain and Ireland are investigating reports that fake British and Irish passports were used by members of an alleged Russian spy ring arrested in the US, officials said Tuesday.London and Dublin said they were checking after US officials announced the arrest of 10 "deep-cover" suspects accused of infiltrating policymaking and reporting back to Moscow.Spies using fake passports? Who would've thunk it?
"There is a reference to a false Irish passport in an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the Russian spy ring," an Irish foreign ministry spokesman told AFP. "We are trying to get official clarification of this report," he added.
The Irish spokesman said "the firm position of the government in regard to the fraudulent use of Irish passports is a matter of public record."
We'll see if any Russian diplomat gets expelled from Ireland or the UK in retaliation.