Man appears in UK court accused of providing Russian intelligence with drone factory details

LONDON, Sept 10 - A British man appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of providing information about factories which manufacture drones and offering to sabotage them on behalf of Russian intelligence.

Joshua Cammidge, 31, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an act of sabotage after contact with the GRU Volunteer Corps, which prosecutors said was controlled by Russia's GRU military intelligence agency.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, prosecutor Warren Stanier said Cammidge was accused of providing details of four drone factories near his home in Swindon, west England, and volunteering to commit an act of sabotage.

Prosecutors say he also conducted research about a Wi-Fi jamming device and undertook reconnaissance.

Cammidge did not enter a plea, but Stanier said that in a police interview he had strenuously denied the charges and said he had had no intention of carrying out any sabotage.

Russia's embassy in London has not commented on the case.

Stanier told the court that Cammidge, who was arrested in Swindon last week by counterterrorism officers, had been communicating between August 28 and September 3 with a British national who had gone to Russia to fight against Ukraine.

"The essence of those conversations was the location of factories in the UK which manufacture drones and the sabotage of those factories," Stanier said.

Stanier said other conversations Cammidge had had with an ex-partner and a trusted work colleague showed he was being requested to do so by the Russian intelligence services.

Cammidge was remanded in custody and will appear at London's Old Bailey Court on September 25. REUTERS