A British man who “dreamt about being like James Bond” has been found guilty of trying to spy for what he believed to be Russian intelligence service agents.
Howard Phillips, from Harlow, Essex, wanted to pass on personal information about former defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps.
The 65-year-old offered to help two agents called Sasha and Dima, but Winchester Crown Court heard they were actually undercover British intelligence officers.
Phillips, who was found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act, will be sentenced at a later date.
He silently shook his head in the dock as the jury gave its unanimous verdict after four hours and four minutes of deliberations.
The defendant’s ex-wife, Amanda Phillips, told the trial he “would dream about being like James Bond” and watched films to do with MI5 and MI6 as he was “infatuated with it”.
He applied for a job with UK Border Force in October 2023, which prosecutors said was part of his bid to assist Russia.
