Video shows Hedges confessing to spying

Abu Dhabi: UAE officials on Monday presented to the media a video of their investigation that shows Matthew Hedges admitting in court that he was spying on the UAE.

The convicted British spy reveals that he was a captain with MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence service. Hedges also admits that his PhD and businessman status was just a cover to conceal his activities.

The video was shown to international media at a press conference on Monday.

The 10-minute video clip starts with the judge asking Matthew Hedges for his rank.

“[It is] captain...”, Hedges says.

The clip moves to what appears to be a laidback Hedges in an investigation room where he says: “I have an active field role ...”

Hedges, dressed in a short-sleeved blue shirt, appears relaxed. In one part he says he was not gathering information from the “top top top ... not the leadership, not from [diwan]... but from other directors ...”

“I approached them [the officials] as Matthew Hedges, the PhD student and when I got the information it becomes MI6 ...,” he says snapping his fingers.

When asked about the information he gathered, he says: “What new technologies are they looking into. What do they see as a security threat and then, military of course.”

When investigators ask if anyone knows about him or his job, he says: “No… no one else knows ... No one but you guys.”

“I am Matthew Hedges from Omiscope,” he says at one point.