A retired man passed on the personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two undercover police officers, believing them to be Russian intelligence operatives, for “easy money”, a court has heard.
Howard Phillips, 65, was struggling financially and in the process of applying for a job at UK Border Force when he was approached by the undercover officers, who were posing as Russian agents called Dima and Sasha, Winchester crown court heard.
