Royal Navy member Teddy Young charged with UK national security offences

Royal Navy member Teddy Young, 24, has been charged in the United Kingdom with two offences under the National Security Act 2023, the Metropolitan Police announced on Thursday, 8 October. The charges concern alleged handling of protected information and preparation to disclose it for the benefit of a foreign power. Young was due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London later that day. The allegations have not been proved.

The charges followed an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London. Police said Young was arrested at his home in Bedfordshire on Tuesday, 6 October, and taken into custody in London. The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges on Wednesday, 7 October, according to the police statement. The announcement identifies Young as a member of the Royal Navy but gives no account of his duties.

What the National Security Act charges allege

The first charge alleges that Young engaged in conduct in preparation for committing an offence of disclosing protected information between 26 November 2024 and 21 May 2025. Police cited section 18 of the National Security Act 2023. This is an allegation of preparatory conduct; the police announcement does not say that a disclosure was completed.

The second charge covers the same period. It alleges that Young obtained, copied, recorded or retained protected information intending his conduct to benefit a foreign power. The police statement says the conduct was allegedly prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and cites section 1 of the 2023 Act. Those descriptions set out the prosecution allegations, not findings by a court.

Young’s arrest and scheduled court appearance

Police said Young had been remanded in police custody for an appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 8 October. The available reporting establishes the scheduled appearance, but not its outcome. It therefore does not establish a plea, any decision made at that hearing or what court step may follow. The charges remain allegations as the case enters the court process.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, described them as ‘very serious charges against a serving member of the armed forces’. She said investigators had worked closely with relevant colleagues at the Ministry of Defence as the investigation progressed, so that measures could be taken to mitigate potential risks. The statement gives no detail about those measures or any harm identified.

Flanagan also urged people to avoid further speculation so that the case could proceed through the courts without impeding the justice process. The police account provides the dates and legal basis of the charges, but leaves the alleged foreign power and the information at issue unspecified. Those details cannot be inferred from Young’s service in the Royal Navy or from the statutes named in the charges.

Why police separated the case from RAF Fairford

The Metropolitan Police expressly said Young’s arrest and charges are not connected to the recent investigation into an incident at RAF Fairford. That distinction matters because the two investigations concern national security and have appeared in reporting at the same time. The police statement offers no basis for linking Young to the airbase incident, and the charge against him should be understood as a separate case.

Associated Press reported that police had arrested seven people since three suspicious vans were stopped near RAF Fairford on 27 September. That is background to the separate airbase investigation, not an allegation against Young. Police have given an explicit answer on the connection between the cases while leaving other questions about Young’s case, including the alleged foreign power and the nature of the information, unanswered.