Howard Phillips, a British man from Harlow, Essex, was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act. He attempted to spy for Russia by offering to pass personal information about former UK Defence Secretary Sir Grant Shapps to undercover agents who were actually British intelligence officers. Phillips met with these agents in London and Essex, left a USB containing information on a bike near St Pancras and Euston stations, and sought to assist Russia financially without ideological motives. The case was resolved before actual harm was done due to interception by UK security services.

Howard Phillips, a British man from Harlow, Essex, was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act. He attempted to spy for Russia by offering to pass personal information about former UK Defence Secretary Sir Grant Shapps to undercover agents who were actually British intelligence officers. Phillips met with these agents in London and Essex, left a USB containing information on a bike near St Pancras and Euston stations, and sought to assist Russia financially without ideological motives. The case was resolved before actual harm was done due to interception by UK security services.