BRIDGE OF PIES Glamorous Russian ‘spy’ caught living in suburban London ‘taught classes on how to be British & gave neighbours pies’

A GLAMOROUS suspected Russian spy caught living in suburban London "gave cake and pies" to her neighbours.

Katrin Ivanova, 31, is understood to have moved to Harrow, north-west London, with Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, more than 10 years ago

Katrin Ivanova lived with Bizer Dzhambazov in Harrow, London

The couple are said to have gifted cakes and pies to their neighbours

Ivanova and her partner have been charged in a major UK security investigation

The couple were living a seemingly normal suburban life, with neighbours telling the BBC of how Dzhambazov and Ivanova brought round pies and cakes as gifts.

Dzhambazov has reportedly worked as a hospital driver, while Ivanova had a role in the private sector as a laboratory assistant. 

They also ran a community organisation which ran services for Bulgarian people - introducing and helping them understand the "culture and norms of British society".

The couple are also understood to have worked for electoral commissions in London, which help Bulgarian nationals living outside the country to vote in its elections.

But they, along with 45-year-old Orlin Roussev, were detained under the Official Secrets Act by counter-terrorism detectives in February and have been remanded in custody since.

The trio are accused of working for the Russian security services.

It comes as detectives have been searching the couple's home this week.

Meanwhile Roussev, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, is said to have a documented history of business dealings with Russia.

He moved to the UK in 2009 where he has worked in financial services.

Roussev most recent address is listed as a guest house in the seaside town.

The trio, all Bulgarian nationals, are charged with possessing identity documents with "improper intention".

These include passports and IDs for UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and the Czech Republic.

They are due to go on trial at the Old Bailey in January and are yet to enter a formal plea to the charges.

Britain has previously been targeted by Russia agents - most notoriously the nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury.

They were found slumped on a bench in a "catatonic state" and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, later revealed to be using pseudonyms and whose actual names were Dr Alexander Mishkin and Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, are accused of carrying out the attack.

The pair bizarrely claimed to have been interested in the history of the local area, praising Salisbury Cathedral for its "123-metre spire and its clock, one of the first ever created in the world that's still working".

Dzhambazov and Ivanova's seemingly innocuous story also bears a striking resemblance to the arrest of suspected Russian spies Sergey Skvortsov and his wife Elena Koulkova in Sweden.

The couple were well known, well liked, happily chatted with their neighbours - only to be swooped by elite cops in two Black hawk helicopters.

Both are believed to have been acting as spies for Putin for the better part of a decade - hiding in plain sight as regular every day citizens.

In November, ex-MI6 agent Julian Richards said Moscow had become so effective at spying in Britain that intelligence agencies "don't know" just how many rogue operatives are active in the UK.

The Sun has contacted Met Police for comment.

Orlin Roussev is the third suspected spy arrested and charged