Man jailed for seven years after sharing Grant Shapps’ details with ‘Russian spies’

Howard Phillips was looking for money when he offered his services to officers who were posing as agents, judge says

A man found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after handing over personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two undercover officers he believed to be Russian agents has been jailed for seven years.

Howard Phillips, 66, was convicted in July after jurors heard that he had been seeking easy money" when he offered his services to the undercover officers, known as Dima and Sasha.