Adversary Intelligence — 2026-09-10

British Man Charged With Assisting GRU Volunteer Corps Under National Security Act

BLUFCharging under the National Security Act's sabotage-preparation clause treats GRU proxy volunteers as state-directed threats, setting prosecution precedent that will shape how allied services handle similar recruitment cases.

The Metropolitan Police charged Joshua Cammidge, 31, of Swindon, with two National Security Act offenses following his arrest by Counter Terrorism Policing London and Wiltshire Police on September 4 12. The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges, assisting a foreign intelligence service under section 3 and preparatory conduct under section 18 of the National Security Act 2023, stem from alleged contact with a representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps, a group the CPS and Met describe as controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency 13. The CPS said Cammidge allegedly communicated with and received instructions from an individual linked to the group, with intent to prepare an act of sabotage 3. Chief Crown Prosecutor Frank Ferguson said prosecutors determined there was sufficient evidence and public interest to proceed 3. Cammidge is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 10 123.

Analysis
The charge marks one of the first tests of the National Security Act's section 18 sabotage-preparation clause against an alleged GRU Volunteer Corps recruit, signaling that UK counterterrorism police now treat volunteer-proxy networks as an extension of the GRU rather than an independent nuisance. A conviction would set precedent for prosecuting online contact with GRU intermediaries as sufficient grounds for charging. Romania's concurrent SRI detention of a Russian citizen for similar surveillance tasking at NATO facilities points to parallel GRU proxy-recruitment campaigns running across multiple European states. CPS and Met statements converge closely, though secondary outlets largely paraphrase those releases rather than add independent reporting. Reporting restrictions ahead of the September 10 hearing leave the alleged sabotage target and evidentiary basis undisclosed. The conduct could as easily reflect low-tier online contact as an operationally advanced plot.
4 sources
  1. Man charged with National Security Act offences - Metropolitan Police
  2. British man charged over alleged Russian spy contact - UK Defence Journal
  3. Man charged with assisting GRU Volunteer Corps - Crown Prosecution Service
  4. UK man charged with assisting Russian intelligence-connected group - Al Jazeera

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