AN ELECTRIC teapot given by Russia as a gift to the Queen has reportedly been removed from her residence at Balmoral as a possible security threat.
The ornate red and yellow samovar, which was apparently sitting in a room at Balmoral, was identified as a potential bugging device following a recent sweep by the security services.
The object was presented to the Queen by a Russian aerobatics team around 20 years ago, at the end of the Soviet era.
It reportedly became a favourite of the Queen Mother, who put it in a corner of a room in the Aberdeenshire estate and apparently showed it off to visitors.
Security services apparently suspected that the complicated eastern European wiring could have concealed a listening device.
