Royal Navy sailor appears in court on charges of spying for Russia

A Royal Navy sailor appeared in a London court on Thursday to face charges of spying for Russia.

Teddy Young, 24, has been charged with two offences under the National Security Act, including preparing to disclose protected information between November 2024 and May 2025, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said. During the same period, Young allegedly obtained, copied, recorded or retained protected information for the benefit of a foreign power. Young has been in police custody since he was arrested on Tuesday at his home in Bedfordshire, north of London. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London on Thursday.

 “The allegation is that while serving as a Royal Navy warfare intelligence rating with high-level security clearance and intelligence-system access, Teddy Stanley Greenidge Young accessed and retained sensitive UK defence and intelligence material and engaged in activity consistent with preparing to pass protected information to a foreign power,” the Crown Prosecution Service said in a written summary of the allegations.

Young allegedly used the dark web to try to contact Russian authorities, drafting a message that “sought to make contact with a potential threat actor.”

Young, who joined the Navy in April 2024, is accused of committing the offences during his first deployment, which began November 4, 2024.