British Man Howard Phillips sells after attempted Russian spying

A British man who was told he “aspired to be like James Bond” has been jailed for seven years after trying to spy on Russia.

Howard Phillips, from Harlow, Essex, wanted to pass on personal information about the former secretary of defense Sir love shapps.

The Conservative MP recalled going to Mr Phillips’ house after moving into a new house in 2002.

Phillips, 66, was found guilty of aiding a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act and was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire.

“You are willing to betray your country for money,” said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

“You took a huge risk and didn’t care what damage you caused.

“Through the deliberate act of the Security Services you were caught before providing material assistance to a foreign intelligence service so that disaster was averted.”

He said he was sentenced on the basis that he was not “ideologically driven but motivated by money”.

His trial earlier this year saw him applying for a job at Fordice in the UK in October 2023, which prosecutors said was part of his call to Russia.

Phillips offers to help two agents who he thinks are from the country’s intelligence service, but who are actually hiding from the country’s intelligence officers.

His ex-wife told jurors that he “dreamed about being like James Bond” and watched films about the Mi5 and Mi6 as he was “infatiated with it”.

Phillips told agents on Whatsapp that he was “semi-retired but had connections in high places”, before they met in West Thurrock, Essex, on 9 May 2024.

He agreed to pass on personal information about SIR Grant, including his address, telephone number and the location of his private plane.

Prosecutors said he left the agents with a USB on a bicycle near St Patrras and EustaTo Stations in London.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Sir Grant said he was “appalled” about the defendant’s plans and said he was concerned for the safety of his family.

Sir Grant recalled going to dinner at Phillips’ home, three years before he became MP for Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

“I feel this is a complete breach of Mr. Phillips’s trust,” said Sir Grant.

“He chose to take any information he had and try to sell it to a foreign intelligence agency, thus, like, putting myself, my family and ultimately the country at risk.”

Bethan David, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service Service Division, said: “Phillips failed at his own profit.”

Phillips’ defense lawyer, Jeremy Dein KC, said it was alleged there was an “element of fantasy” in his actions.

The court described him as a “lost soul” and an “eccentric fantasist” who believed he could manage Arsenal Football Club or even England.

“This is an old man whose life has collapsed, who clearly doesn’t think straight and is desperate for money,” Mr Dein said.