UK navy sailor accused of plot to leak secrets

A serving member of Britain's Royal Navy appeared in court on October 8 accused of plotting to leak defence and intelligence information to a foreign power.

Teddy Young, 24, was remanded in custody after a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London. He was not asked to enter a plea, and his next appearance is scheduled at London's Old Bailey on October 16.

A written summary of the allegations presented to the court said Young, who joined the navy in April 2024, allegedly abused his high-level security clearance while deployed on a navy vessel. It alleged he accessed secret defence and intelligence data and plotted to pass on the information during his first deployment, which began in November 2024.

The foreign power involved was allegedly Russia, according to UK media reports.

London's Metropolitan Police said Young was arrested by counter-terror police at his home in Bedfordshire, north of London, on October 6. Police said he had been charged with obtaining protected information in order to benefit a foreign power under section 1 of the National Security Act, which covers principal espionage offences.

He is also charged under section 18 with engaging in conduct “in preparation for committing an offence of disclosing protected information”. The alleged offences took place between November 2024 and May 2025.

The Metropolitan Police said the arrest and charge were not connected to the recent investigation into an incident at RAF Fairford, a British airbase used by the United States to launch strikes on Iran.

The United States confirmed this week that it had withdrawn all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, reportedly because of “new threats”. Police were called to the base in southwest England on September 27 after a local farmer reported a group of men with several vans engaged in suspicious activity.