Able Seaman Teddy Young allegedly abused his high-level security clearance to access secret defence and intelligence data while deployed on a Navy vessel.
He is said to have drafted a message in Russian and used the dark web to try to contact authorities in the country.
Young joined the Navy in April 2024 and allegedly began offending on his first deployment from 4 November that year.
He was serving as a Royal Navy warfare intelligence rating with high-level security clearance and intelligence-system access.
The 24-year-old, of Bedford, was first arrested in May 2025 and then rearrested by counter-terror police at his Bedfordshire home earlier this month.
Young, wearing a grey tracksuit, appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink from Belmarsh prison for a preliminary hearing on Friday.
He is charged with a total of five offences.
What was Young originally charged with?
Young was initially charged earlier this month with two offences under the National Security Act 2023.
The first charge alleges that between 26 November 2024 and 21 May 2025 he engaged in conduct in preparation for committing an offence by “disclosing protected information” for a purpose which was “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, intending the conduct to benefit a foreign power”.
The second charge alleges that between the same dates he obtained or disclosed protected information.
What are the new charges?
Young has now been charged with misconduct in a public office between 15 February 2024 and 25 March 2025.
The charge states that while working as a rating in the Royal Navy, he “wilfully misconducted himself” by sending classified information to a personal email address, via WhatsApp and Discord, and retained classified information on personal devices.
And he also faces two counts of failing to comply with a notice, contrary to section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) 2000. They relate to alleged failures to make disclosures about a USB stick and an SD memory card.
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Prosecutor Kelly Brocklehurst said the evidence indicated Young accessed and, without authority, retained “sensitive information” about intelligence and was communicating with a “third party overseas”.
Mr Brocklehurst alleged the defendant “intended to share some or all of the intelligence with a foreign power”.
He was allegedly “interested in a website set up by a foreign intelligence service”, Mr Brocklehurst said.
“The website that he appears to have taken a particular interest in is the foreign intelligence service of Russia, the SVR,” he added.
In court, Young spoke to confirm his identity. He was not asked to enter any pleas and his trial was provisionally listed to start in October 2027.
Police previously said the charges were not connected to the recent incident at RAF Fairford.
Sky News understands he was previously arrested in Hampshire in May 2025 and was immediately suspended and removed from duties.
