Blair aide admits to 'spy rock' episode

LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Jonathan Powell, who served as chief of staff for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said the story of a fake rock used to spy on Russia is true.

A diplomatic row between Moscow and London ensued in 2006 when Russia accused British agents of concealing a transmitter in a fake rock and placing it on a Moscow street where it was used by British agents and a Russian informant to transmit information. Britain had laughed off the allegation at the time but Powell now says the story was true, the BBC reported Thursday.

Powell said Russia "had us bang to rights" when Russian television ran a report showing how British diplomats used the fake rock to receive and transmit information, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"Clearly they had known about it for some time," Mr. Powell was quoted as saying in a BBC television interview aired Thursday.

The Russian allegation, which British authorities declined to confirm at the time, triggered other claims by the Moscow that Britain was helping fund non-governmental organizations opposed to Vladimir Putin, The New York Times said.

Russian TV had aired video showing alleged British agents repeatedly walking past the rock, with one clip showing a man kicking the football-sized device, possibly because it had malfunctioned, while another British diplomat was seen picking up the football-sized rock and walking away with it.

"There's not much you can say. The spy rock was embarrassing," Powell said in the BBC interview, The Daily Telegraph reported.