Key facts
- Joshua Cammidge, 31, faces charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an act of sabotage.
- Prosecutors allege Cammidge was tasked with locating drone manufacturing sites and volunteered to carry out sabotage.
- The alleged actions were intended to assist the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
- Cammidge is accused of researching Wi-Fi jamming devices and conducting reconnaissance.
- Cammidge denies the charges, with his lawyer stating the communications were not serious.
- Cammidge will appear in court again in January to enter a plea, with a trial set for April.
A British man, Joshua Cammidge, 31, appeared in London's Old Bailey court on Friday accused of providing information about drone manufacturing factories and offering to sabotage them on behalf of Russian intelligence. Prosecutors allege that Cammidge exchanged messages with a British national who had traveled to Russia to fight against Ukraine, and was tasked with locating drone manufacturing sites.
Prosecutor Sarah Przybylska told the court that Cammidge "discussed sabotaging a site and the defendant volunteered to carry out such sabotage," adding that "it was clear all of this was to assist the Russian war effort." Cammidge is also accused of researching a Wi-Fi jamming device and undertaking reconnaissance.
Cammidge, from Swindon, west England, did not enter pleas to the charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an act of sabotage. His lawyer, John Oliver, stated that Cammidge intended to deny the accusations, arguing that there was "no intention to cause or take part in sabotage" and that the communications were "not to be taken seriously."
Russia's embassy in London has not commented on the case. Cammidge was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again in January to enter a plea, with the trial expected to take place at Winchester Crown Court in April.