Police charged Teddy Young, 24, a serving Royal Navy member, with obtaining protected information and preparing to disclose it to benefit a foreign power. He is due at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
British police on Thursday charged a serving member of the Royal Navy under the National Security Act. Reuters reported that Teddy Young, 24, faces two offences: obtaining protected information and preparing to disclose it to benefit a foreign power. He has been remanded and is due at Westminster Magistrates' Court later on Thursday.
BBC News reported that Young, from Bedfordshire, was arrested at his home on Tuesday. The charges cover conduct alleged between 26 November 2024 and 21 May 2025. Police allege he obtained, copied, recorded or retained protected information intending that the conduct benefit a foreign power, and that he knew or ought reasonably to have known it was prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom. The foreign power was not named.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, called the charges very serious against a serving member of the armed forces. Police said the case is not related to the recent incident at RAF Fairford. A Royal Navy spokesperson confirmed that a service member had been charged and said it would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings continue.
The charges are allegations. No plea was reported in the Thursday morning accounts, and the court hearing had not taken place when those reports were filed. BBC described the story as still being updated.
The case is separate from the East Jerusalem consulate decision also announced on Thursday. No further charge sheet detail was published in the Reuters dispatch used here.
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- Helen Flanagan said the charges against a serving member of the armed forces were very serious.
- A Royal Navy spokesperson said it would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings continue.