A serving member of the Royal Navy has been accused of using his high-level security clearance to gather secrets he intended to hand over to Russian authorities.
Teddy Young, 24, who was arrested at his Bedfordshire home on Wednesday is alleged to have “accessed and retained sensitive” defense and intelligence materials and “engaged in activity consistent with preparing to pass protected information to a foreign power,” prosecutors said in a case summary.
Young, who worked in Royal Navy warfare intelligence, didn’t apply for bail and spoke only to confirm his identity at a Westminster Magistrates’ Court hearing on Thursday.
It’s the latest in a growing list of criminal charges against British-based individuals accused of assisting a foreign power. This week three men were accused at trial of spying for Iran to glean information and ultimately attack London-based journalists critical of the country’s regime.
“The matters you have been charged with are too serious to be dealt with by this court,” Judge Annabel Pilling said. Young will appear at the Old Bailey on Oct. 16.
Young is accused of gathering sensitive information and preparing it to disclose to Russia between November 2024 and May 2025. He is accused of using the dark web to try to make contact with Russian authorities, drafting a message which “sought to make contact with a potential threat actor,” and breaking military rules by sending the information to a personal email account.
The charges are not related to the investigation into a suspected terror plot targeting RAF Fairford, the police said.
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