An MI5 contractor passed on secrets to a foreign state in a bid to expose ‘grievances’ about the Security Service which he felt were being ‘silenced’, a court heard today.
Juan Joseph, 42, allegedly travelled to an embassy in Latvia asking to meet representatives of a foreign nation, sending emails which ‘contained sensitive information relating to security or intelligence, unauthorised disclosure of which was likely to be damaging’ to national security.
The IT contractor, who worked for the spy agency for over a decade, is accused of sharing secret information in a complaint about his treatment by MI5 bosses after he was fired due to his deteriorating mental health.
In an extraordinary case at the Old Bailey, which will largely be held in secret, jurors will be asked to consider whether Joseph was insane when he passed on secret information.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward, KC, said: ‘In late 2024 and early 2025, whilst undoubtedly mentally unwell, he sent a number of emails, addressed to or copying into his communications bodies representing one or more foreign countries.
‘Those emails contained information which the prosecution say should not have been disclosed in that way, the disclosure of which was damaging to UK national interests.’
The defendant from Sutton, South London, was granted a security clearance of ‘developed vetting’, which meant he was able to access information of the highest classification during his time working for MI5 from 2009 to 2020.
The court heard that he also worked with another organisation in the UK intelligence community.
An MI5 contractor passed secrets to a foreign state in a bid to expose ‘grievances’ about the Security Service which he felt were being ‘silenced’, a court heard today
But following a decline in his mental health in October 2020, bosses revoked Joseph’s security clearance and terminated his contract.
The disgruntled contractor then raised a number of grievances against MI5, attempting to bring a private prosecution at Westminster Magistrates Court in August 2024, it was said.
When his application was refused, Joseph applied to the High Court for judicial review.
The prosecutor said emails were sent to court officials in November 2024, copying in a foreign state, which ‘contained sensitive information relating to security or intelligence, unauthorised disclosure of which was likely to be damaging’ to national security.
Concerned, court officials alerted police.
Days later, Joseph flew to Riga on December 8 travelling to an embassy and asking in emails to meet representatives of a foreign state, it was alleged.
The country concerned cannot be named, which is one of the many details being kept secret in the unusual case to protect national security.
On his return, Joseph was stopped at Gatwick airport on December 15 and questioned by police who seized five mobile phones, a tablet device and a laptop.
The extraordinary case at the Old Bailey will largely be held in secret. The state which the defendant allegedly contacted cannot be named
The defendant refused to provide the PIN for the devices claiming he was an MI5 officer, it was said.
Police later found a photograph taken opposite the embassy.
Jurors heard that Joseph then sent an email to the Independent Office for Police Conduct which ‘contained information likely to be damaging in the terms of the Official Secrets Act’.
He was then arrested on January 30, 2025 at an IBIS hotel in Sutton where he had reserved a room for two nights.
The court heard the defendant was ‘agitated’ as he was arrested clutching two phones and a lock knife in his pocket, telling police he was still an MI5 officer and was entitled to carry the weapon.
His signed Official Secrets Act declaration was later found in his home in a plastic tub along with a fake card identifying him as an MI5 officer.
In police interviews, Joseph said he was still working for the Security Service and denied disclosing anything secret, saying he did not intend to copy in the unnamed country.
Ms Ledward said jurors will be asked to consider whether he was ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ adding: ‘There is no dispute that the defendant sent the emails in questions, nor that he was in possession of the knife. The issues concern the defendant’s state of mind when he did those things.
‘The prosecution say that in most circumstances if the defendant did what he did you would have no difficulty in concluding that he not only knew or ought reasonably to have known that his conduct was prejudicial to the interests of the UK.
‘But the psychiatric background and evidence you will hear may give a different explanation, that the defendant was labouring under a terrible delusion caused by paranoid schizophrenia, that he had been a victim of a terrible wrong, that he believed he was being silenced and that he believed it was necessary for him to to escalate his complaint beyond the state to a foreign power.’
Joseph, of Sutton, south London, denies two charges of making damaging disclosures relating to security.
He also denies preparatory conduct under the National Security Act, opening or disclosing protected information and having an offensive weapon.
The trial continues.
