A senior Spanish naval officer working at NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (Marcom) at Northwood Headquarters in Hertfordshire was barred from a British military base and had his national security clearance revoked amid concerns that a woman he was dating might be acting as a Russian spy.

The officer had been in a relationship with Janina White, a dual UK-Polish citizen born in the former Soviet Union, since October 2024 after meeting her on the dating app Tinder. White, 49, who resides in Romford, east London, moved from the Soviet Union to Poland as a child before emigrating to the United Kingdom as a teenager. The officer, a married father of two, separated from his wife shortly before beginning the relationship.

Marcom, NATO’s central command for allied naval forces, including monitoring Russian military and intelligence vessels, had raised suspicions about White. She was reportedly given a one-day escorted visitor pass to attend a social event at the base in December 2024, but security concerns developed in the months that followed.

Following investigations by both Spanish and NATO intelligence officials, the Spanish Navy revoked the officer’s security clearance in mid-2025. In June 2025, the base commander at Northwood was informed and subsequently withdrew the officer’s access to the facility. By July, Spain terminated the officer’s posting at Marcom. Later that August, the officer and White, accompanied by an unidentified individual, attempted to enter the Northwood base without proper authorization. Security personnel denied them entry, and police were called, though no arrests were made.

White has consistently denied allegations of spying and has initiated legal action against the UK Ministry of Defence and NATO, arguing that she is being discriminated against based on her Russian heritage. She has not been arrested, and no formal investigation has verified that she acted as a foreign agent.

In a recent account, White stated that during a visit to St. Petersburg, Russia, she was approached by a man claiming to work for the Russian Federal Security Service, known as the “big house.” According to her, the official identified as Andrei questioned her about the NATO investigation and her relationship with the Spanish officer. She says the interrogation lasted two hours, during which she provided only a brief summary of the situation.

NATO spokesman Commander Tim Pietrack declined to comment on personnel matters but reiterated the alliance’s commitment to protecting sensitive information and personnel security. The UK Ministry of Defence also refused to comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings.