Counter-terror police in the UK have arrested Howard Michael Phillips, a 64-year-old from Harlow in Essex, over allegations that he assisted Russian intelligence. Phillips was taken into custody in central London and is due to face charges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. Detectives have also searched addresses in Hertfordshire and Essex as part of ongoing investigations. Police have made it clear that there is no perceived danger to the general public at this time.
Phillips was arrested under new powers bestowed by the National Security Act. The legislation allows authorities to detain individuals without a warrant if they have a “reasonable” belief that the person they have in custody is involved in “foreign power threat activity”. Law enforcement officials have yet to release any details regarding the nature of Phillips’ alleged activities with Russian intelligence.
The charge against Phillips is very specific, relating directly to activities that “materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities”. It is not known what the suspected activities are, though Phillips has been accused under laws that were updated by the British government in recent years to give authorities more powers to tackle perceived threats to national security.
This latest arrest comes as tensions continue to rise between Britain and Russia. There has been an ongoing dispute regarding the alleged poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia, in the English city of Salisbury in March 2018. The British government has blamed the Russian state for the attack, although Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement
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