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A 31-year-old man from Swindon, in the south of England, has appeared in a London court accused of passing information about drone factories to people linked to Russian military intelligence.
Joshua Cammidge was charged this week with two offences under Britain’s National Security Act: helping a foreign intelligence service, and preparing to commit sabotage.
In plain terms, prosecutors say he shared screenshots from Google Maps pinpointing one drone factory and four other drone-manufacturing sites in his hometown, and that he offered to carry out an act of sabotage himself.
He is also accused of researching a device that could jam Wi-Fi signals and of scouting the sites in person.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the alleged contact was with someone believed to be connected to the GRU Volunteer Corps — a group prosecutors describe as controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. The alleged conduct is said to have taken place between late March and early September this year.
Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Joshua Cammidge with National Security Act offences following a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation.
“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Cammidge did not enter a plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was remanded in custody. His case has been sent to London’s Old Bailey, where he will next appear on 25 September.
The case lands against a tense backdrop for Russia-UK relations, already strained by past incidents including the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the 2018 Salisbury nerve-agent attack on Sergei Skripal.
Britain remains one of Ukraine’s most prominent European backers since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Swindon has become a notable hub for UK military drone production – reportedly making it a target of interest well beyond Britain’s borders.
Additional sources • AFP