A British resident received seven years in prison for allegedly trying to help Russian intelligence

British Howard Michael Phillips received seven years in prison after a court found him guilty of allegedly trying to assist the Russian special services, Sky News reported on November 7.

According to the investigation, the 65-year-old Briton promised to provide Russian intelligence with personal information about the former head of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, Grant Shapps. However, both agents with whom he "made contact" were British undercover police officers.

For a reward, Phillips promised to provide the "agents" with Shapps' phone number and private jet details. At the same time, the man, who is of Jewish origin, told the court that he acted in the interests of Israel. The Briton said that he had been collecting personal information about the former head of the Ministry of Defense and was preparing to transfer it allegedly to representatives of Russian intelligence only in order to "trap them" and expose them. In addition, Phillips, who is of Jewish descent, said that he had also sent letters offering to cooperate to the embassies of the Russian Federation, Iran and China in London.

"You were ready to betray your country for the sake of money. I am sentencing you on the grounds that you are not motivated by ideology, but by money," Winchester City Judge Bobby Cima—Grubb is quoted as saying.

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In June, the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg arrested Marat Gadzhiev for two months on charges of secret cooperation with Norway. The investigation revealed that Hajiyev had made confidential calls to the Norwegian embassy and consulate, intending to establish contact with the kingdom's military attache. According to law enforcement officials, he was interested in the possibility of providing assistance in the modernization of military equipment supplied by NATO to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and used against Russian troops.

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