Royal Navy sailor Teddy Young remanded in custody on spying charges
Royal Navy sailor Teddy Young has appeared in court charged under the National Security Act with preparing to leak classified information to Russia and was remanded in custody.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Able Seaman Teddy Young, 24, has been remanded in custody after appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court charged with offences under the National Security Act 2023. He is the first serving member of the UK armed forces to be charged under the legislation, which was introduced to protect the UK from hostile states.
Mr Young holds a junior rank in the Royal Navy, but his role in warfare intelligence gave him high-level security clearance and access to sensitive defence and intelligence systems. He faces two offences alleged to have taken place between November 2024 and May 2025. He is accused of obtaining, recording, retaining or copying protected information and of preparing to disclose protected information to a foreign power. Police have not formally named the foreign state in open court, but the case is understood to involve Russia. Court documents are expected to name Russia.
During the brief hearing, Mr Young spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth. He wore a police-issue grey sweatshirt or tracksuit and did not enter a plea. The judge, Annabelle Pilling, remanded him in custody until his next appearance at the Old Bailey on Friday 16 October. The case is expected to be heard at Crown Court because of the seriousness of the charges.
The allegations include that he kept sensitive material he had access to, translated a message or document from English into Russian, and searched the dark web for a portal used to send information to Russia. One account said he made a note in Russian. He joined the Royal Navy in 2024 and the alleged offences took place during his first deployment. He was arrested earlier in the investigation, released on bail and had his security clearance revoked, before being re-arrested at his home in Bedfordshire this week and charged.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, said: 'These are very serious charges against a serving member of the armed forces. We've worked extremely closely with relevant operational colleagues within the Ministry of Defence as our investigation has progressed to ensure appropriate measures could be taken to mitigate any potential risks linked to this matter.' She added that further speculation should be avoided so the case can progress through the courts without impediment.
The Royal Navy said it would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are active. Police also stressed that the case is not related to the investigation into recent events at RAF Fairford, where a suspected terror plot led to several arrests. Seven men have been bailed in that separate inquiry. In another separate case, two Latvian men were arrested under the National Security Act after they were found inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire.
The case comes amid wider concern about hostile state activity. Counter-terrorism officers have spoken of an acute threat and a rise in national security cases. Recent prosecutions have involved allegations linked to Russia, China and Hong Kong, while MI5 has warned universities about working with certain Chinese institutions.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| A serving Royal Navy member, Teddy Young, 24, has been charged with spying and is due in court accused of obtaining protected information that could benefit a foreign power. | |||||
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| Police said the charges were not linked to the RAF Fairford investigation. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Only on one channel | |||||
| Court documents allege that Young wrote a note in Russian and attempted to reach Russian authorities via the dark web. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Russia is expected to be named in court documents following a counter-terror police investigation. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| Young is the first member of the British armed forces to be charged under the new National Security Act. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News led on the breaking charge and treated it as a major security story, using its defence editor to say Russia would be named in court documents. Its later court report focused on the brief procedural hearing, the junior rank, the sensitive intelligence role and the remand date. It also placed the case alongside Ed Miliband's visit to Ukraine and wider Russian threats.
- “A serving member of the Royal Navy has been charged with spying.”
- “It's a hugely significant story. Very, very serious.”
- “These are very serious charges against a serving member of the armed forces.”
Channel 4 combined a detailed court report with a wider national security frame, including the arrests at RAF Molesworth and the war in Ukraine. It highlighted Young's low rank but high-level access and said it understood the foreign power to be Russia. Its evening coverage also used an expert to argue that Russian attacks in Europe amount to state-sponsored terrorism, not just hybrid warfare.
- “An able seaman, Teddy Young's rank is at the bottom of the Royal Navy hierarchy, but his role in warfare intelligence gave him high level security clearance, access to intelligence systems.”
- “Channel 4 News understands the 24-year-old from Bedfordshire is alleged to have translated a draft message into Russian and searched for a website used for submitting information to Russian authorities.”
- “He was remanded in custody until his next appearance at the Old Bailey next Friday, October the 16th.”
5 News gave a short, straight news summary of the charge. It focused on the allegation that Young abused high-level security clearance, said the foreign power was Russia, and stressed that police saw no link to the RAF Fairford investigation. It did not carry the detailed court procedure or remand date.
- “A Royal Navy sailor has been charged with spying for Russia.”
- “24-year-old Teddy Young is alleged to have abused high-level security clearance to access secret defence and intelligence data.”
- “Police stress there was no link to the RAF Fairford investigation.”
BBC ONE West gave the most detailed court-focused account, naming the case as the first against a serving armed forces member under the National Security Act 2023. It set out the specific allegations about retained information, a translated message and the dark web, and reported the remand date. It also added context on wider hostile state threats and separate arrests at RAF Molesworth.
- “Abel Seaman, Teddy Young, who's 24, is the first member of the armed forces to be charged under the National Security Act of 2023.”
- “The allegation is that he'd kept some of the information that he had access to on the sensitive systems, that he'd translated a message in English into Russian and had been searching on the dark web for a means of contacting a portal, which is a way of sending information to Russia.”
- “These are very serious charges against a serving member of the armed forces.”
ITV1 covered the first court appearance and the evening remand, highlighting Young's low rank but access to top-secret material through naval intelligence. It reported the two charges, the Russian translation and dark web contact, and said the earlier arrest led to his security clearance being revoked. It also noted the RAF Fairford bail decision and German politics in the same bulletin.
- “A Royal Navy sailor accused of plotting to leak classified information has appeared in court for the first time.”
- “now he is charged with two offences under the National Security Act in that he obtained, recorded, retained or copied classified information and engaged in activity consistent with preparing to pass protected information to a foreign power.”
- “The first time a serving member of the armed forces has been charged under the National Security Act.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.