A former MI5 employee has been sectioned after being accused of repeatedly leaking sensitive information to a foreign power.
Former government IT contractor Juan Joseph, 43, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after a week-long trial at the Old Bailey in March.
He emailed the foreign state and even travelled overseas, trying to arrange a meeting at an embassy there, as he pursued a complaint against MI5.
On a Wednesday hearing at the Old Bailey, Joseph was detained indefinitely under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act.
“I accept that Mr Joseph would not have done what he did if he had not been mentally ill,” Mr Justice Hilliard said.
“But if his particular mental illness is not treated effectively and his condition deteriorates, I am sure that there is a very obvious risk that similar conduct could be repeated and the consequences for national security and for particular individuals could be very serious indeed.”
He added that Joseph had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and did not “have a guilty mind” or know that “what he was doing was wrong”.
Four psychiatrists were instructed in Joseph’s case, and they all agreed that he should be given a restricted hospital order, the court heard.
Ms Jocelyn Ledward KC, prosecuting, noted that “if he became unwell again” there is a “high risk that the defendant does something similar”.
Dr Michael Kavuma told the court that Joseph was in an “early stage” in his treatment, and does not yet understand “the seriousness of his actions, the seriousness of his risk and the importance of receiving treatment”.
Jurors heard that Joseph had the highest vetting clearance during his 11 years at MI5 as a systems engineer, security IT management engineer and senior support engineer.
His contract was terminated in October 2020 after he was taken to St Thomas’s hospital in London displaying what colleagues described as “mental fragility”, “extreme anxiety” and “paranoia”.
He discharged himself before he could be assessed, and at a meeting to terminate his contract in October 2020, Joseph claimed to have been “victimised” and “gaslit”.
The defendant also made a series of unfounded complaints against MI5 about racist treatment and “highly disturbing” claims, including rape, child abuse, and torture, jurors were told.
Mr Justice Hilliard had ordered his trial at the Old Bailey to be heard largely behind closed doors in the absence of the public and press to “avoid the risk of damage to national security”.
Before the jury were invited to retire to consider their verdicts, they were told that experts agreed the defendant was in the grip of mental illness to the extent that Joseph did not think he was doing anything wrong.
Joseph also claimed a swastika had been put up in the office and he was injected with a hypodermic needle containing something that made him “very poorly” while at Thames House, MI5’s headquarters.
He made contact with the foreign state in 2024 after a bid to bring a private prosecution for assault in 2019 was rejected.
He applied for a judicial review by the High Court and began copying an email linked to the foreign state into his communications.
On 8 December 2024, Joseph travelled to Riga in Latvia where he sent two emails requesting a meeting at a foreign embassy there.
He was stopped by police at Gatwick Airport on his return on 15 December and refused to hand over codes to seven digital devices, claiming he was an MI5 officer and needed authorisation.
On 13 January 2025, Joseph copied in a foreign state in another email complaining about his treatment by police at Gatwick.
On his arrest at an Ibis Hotel on 30 January 2025, he maintained he was an “armed MI5 officer” and a lock knife was found in his pocket.
A search of Joseph’s home nearby led to the discovery of a homemade card falsely identify him as an MI5 officer.
In police interviews, Joseph claimed to be a “whistleblower” and said he had done nothing wrong and had passed polygraph tests.
He claimed to be a black belt in taekwondo with training in ninja-style knife and sword techniques at Thames House and was allowed to carry a blade for “defence”.
On Wednesday, the prosecution revealed that the defendant was arrested in early 2022 on similar charges, but no further action was taken.
Ms Ledward said: “The defendant was arrested and interviewed in early 2022 in relation to similar disclosures that had been made at the time, as it transpired, while he was mentally unwell.”
This culminated in a hospital admittance for a mental health assessment at the end of 2022, where he was found to not be “sufficiently unwell” to remain in hospital, the court heard.
Joseph, from Sutton, south London, denied four charges under the Official Secrets and National Security Acts and having an article with a blade or point – but declined to give evidence in his defence.
He was cleared of all charges by reason of insanity, and has received a hospital order which will see him remain at Broadmoor Hospital indefinitely.
The Section 41 restriction means that he can only be released with the permission of the Ministry of Justice, and could be immediately recalled.
“I think that the power under section 41 for immediate recall to hospital if there is any deterioration, disengagement or concerns will markedly reduce his ability to do anything which could cause serious harm to the public,” Mr Justice Hilliard said.
