A British embassy worker arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia is a private contractor who was employed as a security guard, Sky News understands.
The British national, named as David S, was understood to have been monitored by the MI5.
Sky News knows the full name of the suspect but is not disclosing it for legal reasons.
He was detained in Potsdam over allegations that he had been working “for a foreign secret service”, the German public prosecutor said.
A statement from the German prosecutor said: “Until his arrest, David S worked as a local employee at the British Embassy in Berlin.
“On at least one occasion he forwarded documents obtained in the course of his professional activities to a representative of a Russian intelligence service.
“In return for providing information, the accused received cash in a previously unknown amount.”
Sky’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall understands the man’s alleged activities “had been known about for some time” and he was being monitored by British security services.
The arrest is the result of a joint investigation by German and British authorities and was not a “snap arrest”, according to Bunkall.
Investigators have searched his home and office, the prosecutor’s statement said.
Germany’s foreign ministry said it was taking the case “very seriously” and that spying on allied states on German soil is unacceptable.
The Metropolitan Police said the 57-year-old had been arrested “on suspicion of committing offences relating to being engaged in ‘Intelligence Agent activity’ (under German law)”.
The force’s counter terrorism command is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act.
David S is expected to appear at the Federal Court of Justice in Germany later.
A UK government spokesperson said: “An individual who was contracted to work for the government was arrested yesterday by the German authorities.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further as there is an ongoing police investigation.”
Labour said the arrest raised “questions” over who is in charge of security issues in government.
The security minister post has been vacant for more than a month after James Brokenshire stepped down to focus on his cancer recovery.
Shadow security minister Conor McGinn said: “Britain’s national security is under threat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but the UK has not had a security minister in position for over a month.
“Following today’s events, it raises questions about who in Government is overseeing the most serious task of keeping the British public safe and secure.”
Conservative chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat said the British national arrested in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russia appeared to be “relatively low down” in rank.
“We are not talking about some sort of Kim Philby-type story. We are talking about somebody relatively low down on the rank of the ladder who has clearly made some very unwise decisions and has possibly even betrayed their country and is now, we don’t know, but he may be a traitor,” he told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme.
“Let’s wait and see what the court case gives us and what the intelligence secures but I have to say, it is a pretty impressive piece of co-operation if our intelligence services and the German intelligence services have been effectively watching him for a year or so.
“(They have) probably picked up a lot more useful intelligence about how the Russians are operating in Berlin.”
Kim Philby was a British spy who defected to the Soviet Union.
An MI6 officer and Soviet agent, Mr Philby was a member of the infamous Cambridge Five group of spies and fed secrets to the Kremlin throughout the 1940s and 50s before he defected to the USSR in 1963.
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