Mark Bullen, 45, who had a lifelong obsession with Russia, has spent more than a decade living in St Petersburg, where he works in communications for a football team owned by Gazprom
An ex-policeman has become the first British national to be stripped of his citizenship on national security grounds over his links to Russia.
Russia-obsessed Mark Bullen, 45, who worked for more than a decade at Hertfordshire Constabulary, was stopped at Luton airport in 2024 and questioned on suspicion of being involved in hostile activity on behalf of a foreign state. The cop had long had a fascination with the country, where he now lives, and had his electronic devices seized after flying to the UK from his adopted home.
He obtained a Russian passport in 2022, achieving what he said was a “lifelong dream”, and was deprived of his British documents by Shabana Mahmood in October 2025, a month after she became Home Secretary.
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In a post online, Bullen, originally from Bracknell in Berkshire, shared a letter detailing the move made on grounds that to do so is “conductive to the public good”. Ms Mahmood also warned that its contents “should not be made public in the interests of national security”.
Bullen, who denies wrongdoing, met with senior Russian officers during a month-long police exchange trip to St Petersburg, and has stacked his social media profile with pro-Kremlin, anti-Ukraine propaganda. In a recent interview, he joked that his obsession with the Soviet Union, which he said started in his childhood, had led Brit friends and family members to joke: “You’re a spy.”
The ex copper has lived in Russia for the last nearly 12 years, and has taken up a job in communications for top Gazprom-owned football team Zenit St Petersburg.
He is also married to a Russian wife, with whom he has four children, but frequently returns to the UK to see his British family members. The London Metropolitan Police, which leads on hostile state cases, clarified the questioning Bullen recieved from police when he was stopped in 2024.
A spokesperson said: “On November 12, 2024, a man, aged in his forties, was stopped by counterterrorism officers at Luton airport using powers under Schedule 3 of the Counterterrorism and Border Security Act 2019 after arriving in the UK on a flight from Turkey. He was detained and digital devices were seized from him for further examination before he was let on his way. There was no arrest.”
The Home Office said in its own statement that depirvation of British citizenship is used to protect Brits from “dangerous people” and “hostile state activity”.
A spokesperson said: “Deprivation of British citizenship is a vital tool used to protect the UK from some of the most dangerous people, including those involved in terrorism, hostile state activity, or serious organised crime. Deprivation decisions are never taken lightly, but this government will always take whatever action is necessary to keep our country safe.”
