Overview
- Howard Michael Phillips, 66, was convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act.
- He offered personal information about then defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps and proposed travel and hotel logistics to contacts he knew as “Dima” and “Sasha”.
- The supposed Russian agents were undercover British intelligence officers, and counter-terrorism police arrested Phillips before any material assistance was passed.
- Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb sentenced him at Winchester Crown Court and said he displayed narcissistic tendencies and an inflated sense of importance.
- In a victim impact statement, Sir Grant Shapps said the attempted disclosure posed a very real risk to his family.