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UK Caught 18 Russian Spies Accused of Assassination Attempts/Cyber Attacks/Sabotage
Shocking Moment Russian SPY Working For Putin is Dragged Away by Police in Essex
Russian SPY Offers Sensitive Information About Grant Shapps to Undercover British Agents Posing as Putins Cronies is Shown to Jury
MailOnline 24 JUL 2025
Russian 'SPY' Howard Phillips is seen in May 2024
This is the moment Phillips, accused of being a Russian agent appears to offer sensitive information about a former defence secretary to UK spooks posing as Putins spies.
Howard Phillips, 65, is on trial accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service after he allegedly passed a USB stick containing information about Grant Shapps to British undercover police who he believed were agents working for Russia.
Phillips, of Harlow in Essex, denies the charge, claiming he had initially written to the Russian embassy to expose Russian agents to help the Ukrainian war effort.
Video shown to the jury at Winchester Crown Court appears to show the moment Phillips greets the fake spies outside a Costa coffee shop in May 2024.
Jurors also saw video of an April 2024 meeting at the London Bridge Hotel in which he allegedly offered his services to foreign spooks.
Father of four Phillips, described by his ex wife as dreaming about being like James Bond, is alleged to have forked over a digital storage device to his handlers
This contained Mr Shapps' personal information, including his home address, telephone number and the location of his private plane, prosecutors say.
He had allegedly teased the faux Russians with the promise of something interesting about the ex defence secretary, who was in the hot seat from August 2023 until the end of the most recent Tory government last July.
Footage of the conversation shows Phillips telling them that he retired from insolvency five years prior and went travelling, visiting cities including Moscow.
Phillips said that he then found himself in a position where now I need to be earning money
He told the agents I do not want and cannot for myself go back into the normal nine to five office. Its not for me, it never was for me, but I did it.
Describing how he first decided he would like to work with the Russian Intelligence Service, he said I was thinking, I have to do something, I have to earn money, what can I do and I came up with all the things I dont want to do.
I was thinking about, funnily enough, I was thinking about maybe, going away on holiday. I thought about Moscow.
Its just a thought process and I suddenly thought, maybe I can offer services. I get what I want and you get what you want.
Phillips told the agents We all help each other and we look after each other, we become a family
On May 9, 2024, Phillips met with Dima at a Costa Coffee in a retail park in West Thurrock, Essex.
Footage from the meeting shows him asking What do you know about the, um, Secretary of Defence in the United Kingdom
Phillips had told the officer I have something, I dont know if you want it or dont want it
Footage of Phillips allegedly sending a message to his Russian handlers has been shown to the jury as part of the trial
He continued Because, I have personal information which may be useful.
So I know his home address, I know his home telephone number and I know where he has his private plane.
Maybe its of interest, maybe not
When asked by Dima how he knew this information, Phillips said Because, about five years ago, I was invited to his house with a lot of other people.
He was the MP for Welwyn Hatfield. The local MP. And then, he became chairman of the Conservative Party and now he's Secretary of Defence
Phillips was asked if he knew Shapps, and in response he said Just a little, you know, we've met three times, I think
In the clip, Phillips also encourages using the code word Mother to replace Moscow
The court has heard Phillips was due to start a job with Border Force at the time. His ex wife, Amanda Phillips, said he had fantasised about being a spy, and once wrote to Arsenal saying he wanted to be manager, despite being unqualified.
She told the court he was kind, caring man, a good friend, a good dad but not a great husband
On Thursday the jury retires to begin considering its verdict.
Phillips denies the offence of engaging in conduct to assist a foreign intelligence service, in breach of the National Security Act.
The trial, presided over by Justice Dame Cheema Grubb, continues.
Russian 'SPY' Working For Putin;
Footage of the moment police officers arrested Howard Phillips, who has been convicted of trying to spy for Russian intelligence, and of his interactions with undercover police officers posing as Russian agents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6yxRJepGU
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