VLADIMIR Putin has ordered Russian intelligence agencies to ramp up the recruitment of "kamikaze" spies in Britain, leaked documents suggest.

Former UK intelligence officials said Britain is currently a "major" target – and Russia will be doing everything it can to "get access to people and turn agents in useful places".

Former Russian spy Boris Karpichkov, 62, previously claimed there are at least four Russian agents currently working in Westminster.

MPs and their staff have been urged to stay alert as tensions ratchet up with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

In emails now seen by The Sun Online, a Russian intelligence source close to the Kremlin suggested Moscow will "intensify undercover work with secret informants" across Britain.

"Another direction – to intensify undercover work with secret informants in all spheres of society in Britain, mainly among civil servants and politicians of all ranks – including those who sit in Parliament and members of the Lords," the email said.

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"The emphasis is on finding scumbags ready to commit self-sacrifice under any pretext. We need 'kamikaze-torpedoes' who would agree to participate in sabotage. 

"Particular attention must be paid to activists from international student youth movements, trade unions, and leaders of various religious communities."

The Russian security services insider said potential agents could be found "by increasing surveillance of diplomatic personnel from the Russian embassy and consulates".

Annie Machon, a former MI5 intelligence officer, said she had “no doubts” the Russians will be trying to infiltrate Britain – and warned there will be an "urgency" to do so in light of the Ukraine war.

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She told The Sun Online: "The threat has been increasing, but once you're on a vague war footing, of course the intelligence activity is going to ramp up and try and get access to people and turn agents in useful places."

Annie said Russian intelligence agencies will most likely try to draw agents in by using money, ideology, compromise and ego. 

The former MI5 officer said they will be looking for people who are sympathetic to the Russian cause – and typically offer huge sums of cash and sell the "exciting" lifestyle of spying.

"People who are targeted will have access to things like NATO, things like the military and the civil service, and of course, politicians," she said.

"Also weapons manufacturers and technologists, things like that.

"If I were the Russians and I were paranoid like Putin and everything is going badly in the war in Ukraine – effectively a very strong proxy war – I would be doing all I can do gather up as much influence and power and information from the perceived Western enemies as I could. 

"And Britain has been front and centre in supporting the Ukrainians in this struggle, so Britain would be a natural target."

Annie also warned about the potential rise of financial spying in the UK after a major sanctions crackdown.

"So many Russian oligarchs have been sanctioned and booted out," she said.

"There must be a huge amount of bad feeling at the top of the Russian society about the loss of their assets, about the loss of their access, the loss of access to money laundering facilities. 

"So there might be a lot of financial spying going on too."

Britain has been front and centre in supporting the Ukrainians in this struggle, so Britain would be a natural target

The leaked documents suggest Russian intelligence agencies will also be trying to recruit from within activist groups and religious communities. 

Annie explained the Russians might be resorting to "Cold War" tactics.

She said: "It might be a return to the bad old days of the Cold War when Britain, for example, was investigating hundreds of thousands of British citizens for political subversion.

"The justification for that was usually that the activist group was receiving money from Moscow in order to get out there and campaign and cause political pain.

"That would be one aim – just getting people out on the streets making a noise. Recruiting people in those groups would be a blend of money and ideology." 

Annie also warned Russian intelligence agencies could blackmail "compromised" individuals. 

She said: "This could be a Brit in Russia working at the embassy or somewhere like that, or they are actually set up by the intelligence agency so it looks like they're going to be prosecuted and then a friendly person comes along and says 'we can make all this go away, but this is what we want in return'. 

"That has been used quite effectively. Usually it's kinky MPs caught in brothels." 

But MPs will be warned about "honeytraps", particularly when they go abroad, Annie said.

"They are given very specific instructions about what they can and can't use technologically, what they should and shouldn't do if they are approached by a very beautiful woman or beautiful boy in a bar," she said.

"Another tactic is to get someone on holiday and then someone goes and meets them and says 'here's some cash, come and work with us'."

We are in a situation with increased hostility with Russia, so the intelligence activity will be very aggressive

Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, said Russian intelligence agencies will be looking for people who are sympathetic to Russia – or people who are vulnerable. 

"We would be a major target – because we have a major supporter of Ukraine," he told The Sun Online.

"They will very much focus on the UK… in order to have insight into what's going on at the heart of government, our attitude towards the Ukraine war, our relations with the Ukrainians.

"We are in a situation with increased hostility with Russia, so the intelligence activity will be very aggressive. 

"We have seen evidence of that already with the man who was arrested in Norway who came from Canada, who worked in a strategic think tank… and turned out to be working the military intelligence part of the GRU.

"If they recruit a really sensitive source in the establishment, they would almost certainly be very careful how they meet.

"They would meet in a third country, such as Cyprus or Italy, or maybe somewhere in central Europe."

He added: "Because of the moral issues around the war, they will find it pretty difficult to acquire new sources. But maybe they have already got them."

It comes just months after Westminster was rocked by a major spying scandal after MI5 accused a Labour donor of being a suspected Chinese agent targeting MPs.

The Security Services issued an alert and picture of Chinese national Christine Lee and accused her of "facilitating financial donations to serving and aspiring politicians".

In light of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, MP Chris Bryant said there have been no recent warnings to MPs about the presence of Russian agents.

But he previously told The Sun Online it was likely there were a "handful" of Russian moles inside Parliament.

He said those working inside Westminster should be more vigilant as Putin ramps up the war rhetoric against the UK over its support for Ukraine.

"If the war is prolonged then I think we will see Russia reverting back to old Cold War-style spying techniques," he said.

He said those working inside Westminster should be more vigilant as Putin ramps up the war rhetoric against the UK over its support for Ukraine.

While Russian spies operating in the West may feel like something from a James Bond film, the US – Britain's closest ally – has found itself rooting out agents working for Putin.

Maria Butina was found to have been acting as a spy and attempting to steer US politics as she embedded herself in Washington DC.

She was jailed in 2018 before being deported back to Russia, where she is now a member of Putin's parliament – the State Duma.

And then Russian model Anna Chapman, the daughter of a KGB official, was arrested in 2010 after she is suspected to have worked as an agent in the US.

She was given back to the Kremlin regime as part of a spy swap deal along with nine other suspected agents.

Britain has also been targeted by Russia agents in recent years – the most infamous case being the nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

Putin's men – Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov – managed to fly into London Gatwick and catch the train to Salisbury where they attempted to kill the defector and his daughter.

Government sources said "Russia remains a top national security priority".

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They said the "government has undertaken a range of activity to protect the UK from malign Russian activity".

Back in 2018, the UK kicked out 23 Russian diplomats who were understood to have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers.

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