UK Jewish man convicted of trying to spy for Russian intelligence service
Howard Phillips, 65, told a court he first met ex-Tory minister Grant Shapps at a synagogue as his local MP before passing on his personal data to undercover cops
A man has been found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after passing on personal data of Grant Shapps to undercover cops he thought were Russian agents – after meeting the politician at a synagogue.
Howard Phillips, 65, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court after jurors heard he had been seeking “easy money” when he offered his services to the undercover officers, known as Dima and Sasha.
Phillips, from Harlow, in Essex, handed a USB stick containing details relating to Jewish ex-MP Shapps, including his home address and the location of his private plane, to one of the officers, the trial heard.
He had handed over personal details of the then defence secretary to two undercover police officers he believed were Russian agents.
A jury found Phillips guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act on Tuesday, following a trial at the same court.
The jury reached a unanimous verdict after four hours and four minutes of deliberations.
Phillips, wearing a dark suit and tie, silently shook his head in the dock as the verdict was given.
Phillips had earlier told the court he was Jewish and met Shapps at a synagogue as his local MP in the constituency of Welwyn Hatfield.
He said he had met Shapps on four occasions in the past, after they met at Potters Bar synagogue in Hertfordshire and said he had “socialised” at the then MP’s house after an “invitation to dinner and also to a meeting”.
Phillips also claimed he had contacted the Russian embassy in early 2024 in a bid to track and expose Russian agents to assist Israel.
Asked why he wrote to the Russian embassy in early 2024 claiming to have information, Phillip told jurors: “Because of events that were happening in the world, I was intending to track and expose the Russian agents.”
Quizzed by his lawyer on which events he was referring to Phillips said: “In particular, the war between Israel and Gaza and the Ukrainian-Russian war.”
Phillips, who told the fake Russian agents he was retired and had worked in insolvency, was arrested in May 2024 and charged under the National Security Act.
The defendant’s ex-wife, Amanda Phillips, told the court during the trial that he “would dream about being like James Bond”, and that he watched films to do with MI5 and MI6 as he was “infatuated with it”.
Phillips told the court she was aware the defendant had applied for a job at the UK Border Force in October 2023, which prosecutors said was part of his bid to assist Russia’s intelligence service.
Phillips previously claimed he had contacted the Russian embassy in early 2024 in a bid to track and expose Russian agents to assist Israel.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb remanded Phillips in custody and adjourned sentencing to the “earliest available date” in the autumn.
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