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Reuters
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Poland says Russian secret service hired Colombian for arson attacks
WARSAW, July 29 (Reuters) - A Colombian national acting on behalf of Russian intelligence carried out two arson attacks in Poland last year, before setting fire to a bus depot in the Czech Republic, the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Tuesday. ABW said the 27-year-old suspect set fire to two construction supply depots in Poland in May 2024 on orders from the Russians as part of a hybrid warfare campaign. "He was trained by a person connected to Russian intelligence services ... They taught him how to prepare incendiary materials, Molotov cocktails, and how to document these arson attacks," Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesman for the coordinator of special services, told a press conference. Photographs and video recordings were used by Russian-language media for disinformation and propaganda purposes, ABW said. Russian media then falsely reported that one of the fires was at a logistics centre in the city of Radom used to store military equipment provided by Europe as aid for Ukraine, Dobrzynski said. The Russian embassy in Warsaw, responding to a Reuters inquiry, said it does not comment on such unfounded accusations. Dobrzyński said that following the arson attacks in Poland, the Colombian travelled to the Czech Republic, where he set fire to a bus depot. He was believed to be preparing another attack on a shopping mall when Czech authorities detained him. "He was sentenced to eight years in prison for acts of terrorism he committed (in the Czech Republic). In Poland ... he faces up to 10 years in prison or even a life sentence," said Dobrzyński, adding that the man had partially admitted guilt. Poland has been a target of sabotage, which officials say is part of a "hybrid war" waged by Moscow to destabilize countries that support Ukraine in the war with Russia, involving tactics like arson and cyberattacks. Russia has in the past denied involvement in such attacks.
Reuters
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
UK man convicted of offering minister's information to Russian intelligence
LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - A British man who offered personal information about former defence minister Grant Shapps to Russian intelligence for money was on Tuesday found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service. Howard Phillips offered Shapps' home address and phone number to two people he believed were Russian agents but were in fact British undercover officers, prosecutors said. The 65-year-old denied one count of engaging in conduct intended to materially assist a foreign intelligence service, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail. Phillips gave evidence at his trial at Winchester Crown Court, claiming he was trying to "trap and expose a foreign agent". But he was convicted of the offence under the National Security Act by a jury on Tuesday. He will be sentenced at a later date. At the start of his trial, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said Phillips offered to help Russian intelligence "not necessarily for ideological reasons or because he sympathised with the Russian state". Ledward said Phillips had sought to carry out "easy – and, perhaps, interesting or exciting – work for easy money". Phillips was approached in March 2024 by purported Russian agents, using the names Sasha and Dima, who asked Phillips to save a file onto a clean USB stick, stating what he could offer and why, and hide it inside a parked bicycle on a London street. He later met Dima in May 2024, saying he knew Shapps' home address, telephone number and where his private plane was kept as he had visited Shapps' house, Ledward said. Phillips also offered logistical support, by booking a hotel and buying a mobile phone for a foreign intelligence service, prosecutors said.
Arab News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UK sanctions Russian spies for ‘threats, aggression'
LONDON: Britain on Friday slapped sanctions on the GRU Russian intelligence agency and 18 named agents accused of 'spreading chaos and disorder' on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,' Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement, adding 'Putin's hybrid threats and aggression will never break our resolve.'
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Man accused of plot to share Shapps details says he wanted to ‘expose' Russian spies
A man accused of attempting to hand over the personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to Russian intelligence officers has told a court he was actually trying to 'expose' the agents. Howard Phillips, 65, was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service after passing a USB stick containing details relating to Shapps including his home address and the location of his private plane to undercover officers, who prosecutors say he believed to be Russian spies. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charge. Opening his defence at Winchester crown court, Phillips said he was not acting against the UK when he allegedly leaked Shapps's details but carrying out a secret plot to 'trap' Russian spies. Phillips, a retired insolvency worker from Harlow, Essex, told the court he was Jewish and hoped to pass information about the Russian spies to Israel, as he believed this would 'benefit' the state. He also told jurors that he first met Shapps, then his local MP in the constituency of Welwyn Hatfield, at a synagogue. Jeremy Dein, representing Phillips, asked whether he had any 'feelings about Russia' before he made contact with whom he presumed was the Russian intelligence service. In response, he said he did hold opinions – and they were 'very negative'. When asked about his view of the UK, he said: 'I love the UK … I would never do anything deliberate which would have the potential to harm this country – not ever.' Phillips told jurors he first made contact with the agents by sending a letter to the Russian embassy in March 2024. 'I simply wrote a letter portraying that I had information and that if they are interested, they should be in contact with me,' he said. Phillips said he did not have any information to share, and when asked why he made contact, he said: 'Because of events that were happening in the world, I was intending to track and expose the Russian agents.' When asked why he wanted to do this, Phillips said: 'Because they are the enemy and also, there was another side to it that was, at the time, the media portrayal of Israel was very negative. 'I was thinking to myself, if I could expose an agent, I could take that to the Israelis and facilitate benefit to the Israelis by the [UK] media having to portray that Israel had helped the UK – which goes on behind the scenes anyway.' The court heard that Phillips had met Shapps on four occasions in the past, after they met at Potters Bar synagogue in Hertfordshire. He said he had 'socialised' with Shapps in the then MP's house after an 'invitation to dinner and also to a meeting'. When asked if he was 'friends' with the politician, he said: 'I would say more acquaintances than friends.' Phillips said that in early 2024 he was living off his 'dilapidating capital', adding: 'I was pretty low about everything.' He told jurors he had also sent letters to the Iranian and Chinese embassies in March 2024. When asked why, he said: 'The same criteria. To expose and trap a foreign agent who I perceived were the enemies.' The court heard he had sent several letters in the past to various political figures, celebrities and business people, among others. In November 2022 he sent a letter to the actor Jennifer Aniston and the agent of Tom Cruise. Phillips also sent letters to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Suella Braverman and Steve Barclay, among others. The trial continues.
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Man accused of plot to share Shapps details says he wanted to ‘expose' Russian spies
A man accused of attempting to hand over the personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to Russian intelligence officers has told a court he was actually trying to 'expose' the agents. Howard Phillips, 65, was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service after passing a USB stick containing details relating to Shapps including his home address and the location of his private plane to undercover officers, who prosecutors say he believed to be Russian spies. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charge. Opening his defence at Winchester crown court, Phillips said he was not acting against the UK when he allegedly leaked Shapps's details but carrying out a secret plot to 'trap' Russian spies. Phillips, a retired insolvency worker from Harlow, Essex, told the court he was Jewish and hoped to pass information about the Russian spies to Israel, as he believed this would 'benefit' the state. He also told jurors that he first met Shapps, then his local MP in the constituency of Welwyn Hatfield, at a synagogue. Jeremy Dein, representing Phillips, asked whether he had any 'feelings about Russia' before he made contact with whom he presumed was the Russian intelligence service. In response, he said he did hold opinions – and they were 'very negative'. When asked about his view of the UK, he said: 'I love the UK … I would never do anything deliberate which would have the potential to harm this country – not ever.' Phillips told jurors he first made contact with the agents by sending a letter to the Russian embassy in March 2024. 'I simply wrote a letter portraying that I had information and that if they are interested, they should be in contact with me,' he said. Phillips said he did not have any information to share, and when asked why he made contact, he said: 'Because of events that were happening in the world, I was intending to track and expose the Russian agents.' When asked why he wanted to do this, Phillips said: 'Because they are the enemy and also, there was another side to it that was, at the time, the media portrayal of Israel was very negative. 'I was thinking to myself, if I could expose an agent, I could take that to the Israelis and facilitate benefit to the Israelis by the [UK] media having to portray that Israel had helped the UK – which goes on behind the scenes anyway.' The court heard that Phillips had met Shapps on four occasions in the past, after they met at Potters Bar synagogue in Hertfordshire. He said he had 'socialised' with Shapps in the then MP's house after an 'invitation to dinner and also to a meeting'. When asked if he was 'friends' with the politician, he said: 'I would say more acquaintances than friends.' Phillips said that in early 2024 he was living off his 'dilapidating capital', adding: 'I was pretty low about everything.' He told jurors he had also sent letters to the Iranian and Chinese embassies in March 2024. When asked why, he said: 'The same criteria. To expose and trap a foreign agent who I perceived were the enemies.' The court heard he had sent several letters in the past to various political figures, celebrities and businessmen, among others. In November 2022 he sent a letter to the actor Jennifer Aniston and the agent of Tom Cruise. Phillips also sent letters to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Suella Braverman and Steve Barclay, among others. The trial continues.
