UK Royal Navy sailor appears in court charged under National Security Act

A ​junior member of the ‌Royal Navy appeared ​in a London court on Thursday charged under the National Security Act with obtaining secret ‌information with a view to giving it to a foreign power.

Prosecutors say Teddy Young, 24, obtained protected information to which he had access through his ‌job with a view to disclosing it. Police did not name the foreign ‌power to which the charges relate, though prosecutors allege Young had translated information from a secret, classified document into Russian.

Young, whose role related to "warfare intelligence", appeared at Westminster Magistrates' ⁠Court ​where he was ⁠remanded in custody ahead of his next court appearance on October 16. He was not asked ⁠to enter any pleas. "These are very serious charges against a serving member ​of the armed forces," Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing ⁠London, said in a statement.

"We have worked extremely closely with relevant operational colleagues within the ⁠Ministry ​of Defence as our investigation has progressed to ensure appropriate measures could be taken to mitigate any potential risks linked to this ⁠matter." Police said the charges were not connected to the recent investigation into an ⁠incident at ⁠the RAF Fairford airbase, which US officials have said involved a potential Iranian drone attack.