Sentencing the men, a judge at the Old Bailey said they had planned a campaign of terrorism and sabotage in the interests of the Russian state. Dylan Earl was handed 17 years and a further six years on extended licence for his leading role. Jake Reeves, from Croydon in south London, was given 12 years in prison with one year on extended licence. The offences they admitted made them the first to be convicted under the National Security Act 2023.
We're seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as proxies' being recruited by foreign intelligence services, and these arrests are directly related to our ongoing efforts to disrupt this type of activity, said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of counterterrorism policing in London.
Through our recent national security casework, we're seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as 'proxies' being recruited by foreign intelligence services. Indeed, two young British men are awaiting sentencing after they were recruited by the Wagner Group - effectively the Russian state - to carry out an arson at Ukrainian-linked warehouse. They are facing potentially lengthy custodial sentences, although, to be clear, today's arrests are in no way connected to that investigation.
Some foreign shippers are suspending US package deliveries, as a customs tax exemption for low-value goods comes to an end this Friday. Also, a look at the status of the Russian mercenary force Wagner Group's operations in Mali. And, new mouth guards with flashing lights may be able to alert rugby players of potential concussions. Plus, Istanbul's free public orchard allows visitors to pick their own produce.
The Russian warlord and businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin looked doomed after his failed mutiny and told his mother he expected to die in the days before his private plane crash. Prigozhin, the founder of the notorious Wagner mercenary group, died when his business jet went down in the summer of 2023, two months after his fighters briefly seized control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and advanced towards Moscow in a short-lived rebellion against Russia's military leadership.
"The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal report asserting that the Russia-linked Wagner Group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa on social media."