A 24-year-old Royal Navy rating accused of trying to pass classified defence and intelligence material to Russia has appeared at the Old Bailey facing an expanded set of charges. Teddy Young, who joined the Navy in April 2024 and held high-level security clearance, is alleged to have drafted a message in Russian containing sensitive material and attempted to make contact with Russian authorities through the dark web.
What the prosecution alleges
According to prosecutor Kelly Brocklehurst, the allegations against Young "arose out of the defendant's duties as a serving member of the Royal Navy." The court heard that while deployed on a Navy vessel from November 2024, Young is said to have accessed and retained sensitive intelligence without authority while communicating with "a third party overseas," with prosecutors alleging he intended to share intelligence with a foreign power. Young originally faced two charges under the National Security Act 2023. He now also faces a charge of misconduct in a public office and two counts of failing to comply with notices issued under section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, relating to a USB drive and an SD card.
The National Security Act and why it matters
The National Security Act 2023 replaced much of the UK's older espionage framework, which dated back to the Official Secrets Acts of the early twentieth century. It was designed to address modern threats including cyber-enabled espionage, state-linked interference, and the covert transfer of sensitive data to hostile actors. One charge against Young alleges "conduct preparatory to the commission of an offence" through disclosing protected information for a purpose prejudicial to UK safety, intending to benefit a foreign power - language that reflects the Act's focus on intent and preparatory steps, not only completed acts of espionage. A second charge under the Act alleges the actual obtaining or disclosure of protected information between November 2024 and May 2025.
Encrypted channels and the role of the dark web
The case highlights how classified information can move through ordinary consumer technology rather than specialist spy craft. Prosecutors allege Young sent classified material to a personal email account and via WhatsApp and Discord - mainstream communication platforms that use end-to-end encryption, meaning messages are unreadable in transit even to the platform operators themselves. That same encryption, which protects ordinary users' privacy, can complicate investigations when it is allegedly used to move sensitive state material. The reported use of the dark web to seek direct contact with Russian authorities points to the same pattern: anonymising networks built to shield legitimate activity, such as journalism or dissent under authoritarian regimes, can also be exploited to obscure contact with hostile state actors.
What happens next
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, who oversaw Friday's preliminary hearing, set a plea hearing for March 12 and listed a provisional eight-week trial at the Old Bailey beginning October 8, to be heard before a High Court judge. Young, who appeared by videolink from Belmarsh prison, was remanded into custody. The case underscores the continuing tension security services face in balancing personal digital privacy tools - encryption, secure messaging, anonymising networks - against the risk that the same technologies can be turned against national security when access to classified systems is compromised from within.
