UK police charge member of Royal Navy under National Security Act

LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) – British police on Thursday said they had charged a member of the Royal Navy with offences under the National Security Act for allegedly obtaining protected information and preparing to disclose it to benefit a foreign power.

Teddy Young, 24, has been charged with two offences and is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Thursday. Police did not name the foreign power to which the charges relate.

“These are very serious charges against a serving member of the armed forces,” Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement.

“We have 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.”

Police said the charges were not connected to the recent investigation into an incident at the RAF Fairford airbase, which US officials have said involved a potential Iranian drone attack.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle)