American held in Moscow for spying also British

Russian officials say the American former Marine who is being held in Moscow on spying charges also holds British citizenship, and London has requested consular access to him.

Paul Whelan, the global security director for a U.S. company, was arrested a week ago in Moscow. At the time, he was identified only as an American.

Britain’s Press Association said Whelan’s U.K. citizenship was reported by the U.S. embassy to British officials on Thursday. That was a day after U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman, Jr. met with Whelan at Lefortovo Prison.

“He has British citizenship. The British side has sent a request for a consular visit. Work on it is in progress,” Russian state news agency Tass cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.