Prosecutors in the United States say two suspects in an alleged Russian spy ring have admitted they are Russian citizens living in America under false identities. They said the defendants, known as Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills, told the authorities after their arrest that their real names are Mikhail Kutzik and Natalia Pereverzeva. David Willis reports from Virginia.

The defendants were brought into the modern wood-panelled courtroom in green prison jumpsuits. In a written submission to the judge, the prosecution said there was, in its words, voluminous evidence against the husband and wife, Zottoli and Mills, and that they had admitted using false names and claiming to be either American or Canadian citizens whilst in fact coming from Russia.