UK charges man with assisting GRU Volunteer Corps and preparing sabotage
British prosecutors charged Joshua Cammidge, a 31-year-old from Swindon, on allegations that he materially aided a foreign intelligence service and prepared an act of sabotage. The two counts arise under separate provisions of the National Security Act 2023 and allege contact with the GRU Volunteer Corps, a group the prosecution describes as controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency. Cammidge is due at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday 10 September; a court has not yet determined whether the allegations are true.
Geopolitics··Morning
Prosecutors bring two separate counts
The Crown Prosecution Service charged 31-year-old Joshua Cammidge of Swindon with two offences. Prosecutors used the 2023 National Security Act for both counts: its section 3(1) supports the allegation of materially assisting a foreign intelligence service, while section 18(1) supports the alleged preparation of sabotage. The prosecution statement says Cammidge had contact with the GRU Volunteer Corps, which it describes as a group controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency. These are allegations brought by prosecutors and do not mean that either count has been proved in court.[1]
The case followed an arrest in Swindon
According to the Metropolitan Police statement, Cammidge was arrested at an address in Swindon on Friday 4 September by Counter Terrorism Policing London officers supported by Wiltshire Police; he was taken to a London police station and officers searched a different address in Swindon. The same statement records a further arrest on 5 September, under the National Security Act, on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service. Neither official statement identifies the alleged sabotage target, location or timing. The absence of those details limits what can be said publicly about the alleged plan. The concrete information released covers the defendant's age and home town, the arrest dates, the statutory basis of the charges and the prosecution's allegation of contact with the GRU Volunteer Corps.[1], [2]
The allegations await testing in court
Charges under the National Security Act place the case within the legal framework for foreign-intelligence assistance and sabotage preparation. The prosecution statement does not publish detailed evidence for the counts or set out Cammidge's defence. Contact with the GRU Volunteer Corps, assistance to a foreign intelligence service and preparation of sabotage therefore remain allegations rather than adjudicated facts. The prosecution will have to prove the elements of both offences in court, where the defendant will have an opportunity to answer them. Cammidge is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday 10 September. At this stage, the established development is that the two charges have formally been brought.[1]
