British man guilty of trying to spy for Russia
British man guilty of trying to spy for Russia

Jurors find Howard Phillips wanted to pass on details about ex-defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps.
Read the full article on BBC Politics
Truth Analysis
Analysis Summary:
The article appears factually accurate, with multiple sources confirming the key claim that a British man was found guilty of trying to spy for Russia. The reporting seems mostly objective, with a slight tendency to use descriptive language that could be seen as slightly sensationalizing the event (e.g., 'James Bond wannabe').
Detailed Analysis:
- Claim: British man guilty of trying to spy for Russia
- Verification Source #1: Confirms the title claim: 'British man guilty of trying to spy for Russia.'
- Verification Source #2: Confirms the title claim: 'British man guilty of trying to spy for Russia.'
- Verification Source #3: Confirms the guilty verdict: 'A British man... has been found guilty of trying to spy for what he believed to be Russian...'
- Verification Source #4: Confirms the guilty verdict: 'A British man who “dreamt about being like James Bond” has been found guilty of trying to spy for what he believed to be Russian...'
- Verification Source #5: Confirms the guilty verdict: 'British man convicted of trying to spy for Russian intelligence service...'
- Assessment: Supported
- Claim: Howard Phillips is the name of the man found guilty.
- Verification Source #2: Includes a custody mugshot of Howard Phillips and refers to him as the 'British man guilty of trying to spy for Russia.'
- Verification Source #5: States: 'Howard Phillips, 65, intended to help people two apparent Russian agents...'
- Assessment: Supported
- Claim: Phillips wanted to pass on details about ex-defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps.
- Verification Source #0: Not applicable, this is the original article.
- Assessment: Unverified. While the original article snippet mentions this, none of the provided verification sources explicitly confirm this specific detail. However, the overall context of spying suggests this is plausible.
Supporting Evidence/Contradictions:
- Multiple sources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) independently confirm the core claim that a British man was found guilty of trying to spy for Russia.
- Source 2 and 5 identify the man as Howard Phillips.