A British person who dreamed of “being like James Bond” is believed to have been found guilty of trying to spy as Russian intelligence agents.
Harlo wanted to pass on personal information about Howard Philips from Essex, former Defense Secretary Sir Grant Shap.
The 65 -year -old offered to help two agents named Sasha and Dima, but the Winchester Crown Court heard that they were actually undercover to British intelligence officials.
Philips, who was convicted for assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act, would be sentenced at a later date.
He quietly shook his head in the dock as the jury gave his unanimous decision after four hours and four minutes of discussions.
The defendant’s ex -wife, Amanda Philips, told the trial that he would “dream about being like James Bond” and watched films with Mi5 and Mi6 as he was “infected with it”.
He applied for a job with the UK Border Force in October 2023, with prosecutors said that Russia was part of his bid to assist.
Philips told agents on WhatsApp that he was “semi-retired but with connections in high locations”, before they met both the Lakecide Shopping Center in London and West Thurck, Essex.
During a meeting, he asked him to use the word “mother” instead of “Moscow”, saying that he hopes that the mother would show him “complete praise” for her work.
The defendant also revealed that he had the address of Sir Grant’s home, who was the Defense Secretary of the UK at that time.
