mordant wit

Russia's main intelligence agency says it has caught four British diplomats in a spy scheme worthy of James Bond for its use of bizarre gadgetry.

According to Russian television reports, a piece of equipment that can store and exchange classified information was hidden in a fake rock in Moscow Square, allowing alleged spies to upload and download information in broad daylight while appearing to do nothing more innocuous than use a cellphone or Blackberry.

Russia's Foreign Security Service, which called the spy rock "absolutely new spy technology," has also accused British diplomats of channelling funds to non-governmental organizations, NGOs, including one of the country's best-known human rights watchdogs.