LONDON
A senior Spanish naval officer was suspended and later removed from a NATO military base in Britain after his relationship with a woman he met on the dating app Tinder sparked security concerns about whether she was spying for Russia, according to a media report on Monday.
The senior Spanish naval officer was dating Janina White, a UK-Polish dual national who was born in the Soviet Union, when she was accused of being a Kremlin agent, The Telegraph reported.
Before he was removed from the base and returned to Spain in 2025, the Spanish officer was based at Allied Maritime Command (Marcom), at Northwood headquarters in Hertfordshire, which monitors Russian submarines and warships prowling UK waters, and tracks sanctioned oil tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
The base staff later revoked the NATO officer’s access pass, and the base commander banned him from entering the premises while intelligence personnel investigated.
White, 49, who lives in Romford, east London, has denied the spying allegations and insisted she was an unfair victim of discrimination because of her Russian heritage, saying she is no longer in a relationship with the Spanish naval commander.
“I definitely know I am not a Russian spy. The last time I checked, I wasn’t,” she told the British daily.
White said: “I knew he was dealing with the Russian shadow fleet and submarines. But it was a total prohibition of discussing any details at home about this.”
Her relationship with the Spanish officer began in October 2024 through the dating app Tinder, shortly after she split up with her ex-husband, a prominent council leader who has visited No 10 Downing Street, according to the report.
According to court documents seen by The Telegraph, he invited her to the social event at Northwood’s Warrant Officers’ and Senior Rates’ mess on Dec. 12, 2024, obtaining a one-day escorted visitor pass to the military base.
“A NATO security investigation was commenced; so, too, was a Spanish security investigation. The UK was not involved in these processes, which resulted in a Spanish decision to suspend [the officer’s] national security clearance,” a court document said.
