The UK government has revoked the citizenship of Mark Bullen, a British-born former police officer, citing national security concerns in a decision that has drawn attention for its unusual circumstances, according to The Telegraph.
Newly appointed Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood informed Mark Bullen, a British-born citizen, that he was being stripped of his citizenship via a notice published online.
First case involving British-born citizen
Just a month after taking office, Mahmood moved against the 45-year-old, who served for more than 10 years with Hertfordshire Police. The notice stated:
“You are deprived of British citizenship on the grounds that this is conducive to the public good.”
No further public explanation was provided. Mahmood said the evidence behind the decision could not be disclosed “in the interests of national security”.
Bullen is reportedly the first British-born citizen in the country’s history to be deprived of British nationality.
The UK has revoked citizenship before, largely in cases involving convicted terrorists or people suspected of terrorism. But Bullen has not been convicted of any offence. He was not even arrested.
Alleged Russia ties and questioning
According to the account presented in the article, his main “offence” was his affinity for Russia.
The case has been portrayed by critics as further evidence of how far anti-Russian sentiment has spread in Britain, where even a law-abiding former police officer can allegedly face severe penalties for expressing sympathy towards the “wrong” country. In this case, Russia. Even MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has contributed to that climate, accusing “Kremlin agents” of sowing violence, chaos and division on Britain’s streets.
But Bullen’s ties to Russia went beyond casual sympathy. He married a Russian woman and had four children with her.
By his own account, he was stopped by police at Luton Airport while returning to Britain from Russia, where he now lives, on a route via Turkey because there are no direct flights. He said he was questioned for more than four hours on suspicion of involvement in “hostile activity on behalf of a foreign state”, as British media put it.
The questioning reportedly included unusual topics, among them the 2018 Skripal poisoning in Salisbury and whether he knew any Russian officials. Bullen said he did not.
He says he was treated “like in the Stasi” simply because he lives in Russia.
“What have I done wrong?” he asked.
Background and international contacts
The Mirror reported that Bullen was questioned for four hours under Schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which covers suspected hostile state activity. His electronic devices were seized, but he was released without charge.
The paper also published a detailed account of his life, describing him as someone who had been fascinated by Russia since childhood, admired the Victory Day military parades on May 9, and had even dreamed of obtaining Russian citizenship.
While serving as a police officer, Bullen also took part in a legal international police exchange programme aimed at strengthening ties between officers worldwide, organised by the International Police Association. As part of that programme, he spent a month in St Petersburg in 2010. Russian colleagues later visited him in Hertfordshire.
Those contacts, according to the article, eventually drew the attention of the security services. So much so that he was ultimately deprived of citizenship acquired by birthright.
Comparisons with Moldova
The case has also prompted comparisons with recent citizenship-stripping decisions in Moldova. The article argues that, whereas Britain targeted one man, President Maia Sandu stripped 19 native-born Moldovans of their citizenship in three separate moves:
- In the first instance, on July 18, 2025, five Moldovan citizens were stripped of citizenship for taking part in Russia’s war effort.
- Then, on November 27, 2025, another five residents of Transnistria lost their citizenship.
- Finally, on February 25, 2026, nine more people were stripped of citizenship, this time without even formal accusations of supporting the war effort, but simply because they were from Transnistria, a region outside Chișinău’s control.
