Defence Worker Sent Secret Missile Details To 'Hostile Foreign Governments', Trial Hears

An ex-defence contractor claimed to have sent top secret details about a UK missile system to "a number of hostile foreign governments", a court has heard.

Software engineer Simon Finch is accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act by transmitting classified intelligence about the weapons platform which could have proven useful to an enemy of the UK, the Old Bailey was told.

It has not been possible to verify if any classified intelligence has fallen into the hands of foreign governments or hostile groups or individuals, prosecutor Mark Heywood QC told jurors.

Finch, 50, of Swansea, denies recording and disclosing secret defence information and refusing to give authorities access codes to three electronic devices.

He says he has been "repeatedly failed by the UK state" and has accused police of "brutality" and not taking seriously his claims of suffering two homophobic assaults, the court heard.

Mr Heywood said the alleged acts were "retributive", adding: "His lack of redress and refusal, as he saw it, of justice to him led him to the conclusion that he should not care for national security if the nation had no care for his security."

The systems analyst allegedly sent technical details classified as "secret" and "top secret" in an October 2018 email containing operational information about the weapons system, which is still in use by the Armed Forces, his trial heard on Tuesday.

An expert damage assessment found the release of the information contained in the "Systems.doc" attachment could give "a hostile adversary of the UK… an understanding of the function" of the system and "methods of countering it", Mr Heywood told jurors, who were separated by plastic screens.

The unencrypted email was vulnerable to interception and appears to have been sent to eight recipients and copied to a ninth, including members of charities, law firms, trade unions, an MP and a US citizen, Mr Heywood added.

Reading the email allegedly sent by Finch, Mr Heywood told jurors: "Since the UK has refused me any justice, compensation, or even treatment for these appalling crimes then it has no right to expect my loyalty.

"It is particularly foolish to do this to someone who works upon classified systems, particularly if they are somewhat autistic and have a near-photographic memory.

"Therefore it gives me very great pleasure to say that I have spent the last 10 months documenting SECRET, TOP SECRET and CODEWORD information on the wide range of military systems which I have worked upon.

"This information has been sent (freely) to a number of hostile foreign governments.

"If the nation does not care for my security then why should I care for national security?"

Finch claims to have suffered two allegedly homophobic assaults in Merseyside in 2013 which are said to have triggered a "downward spiral" and left him as a recluse who was fearful of leaving his home and caused his attendance at work to become less regular, the Old Bailey heard.

He has accused Merseyside Police of failing to investigate or classify the attacks as hate crimes and has accused officers of “brutality” when he was detained for psychiatric treatment, the court heard.

His defence barrister Stuart Trimmer QC told jurors that his apparent mistreatment "quite literally ruined his life", adding: "Some might say he became obsessed by the issue. It seems to have consumed his thinking."

He said Finch was "an intelligent man whose sexuality was unclear to others and in doubt to himself" who was "abused and insulted" and who "sought protection but got none".

Mr Trimmer said Finch believes he was let down by police, the police watchdog, an MP, his union, and solicitors.

He added no money or political allegiances were involved in the case.

Finch, of Penlan Crescent, Uplands, Swansea, has worked for private contractors including BAE Systems and QinetiQ, which provide contracted services to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), as well as the MOD itself in the "distant past", the court heard.

He left his job at BAE Systems in February 2018, several months before the alleged leak.

The trial continues.

Cover image: The Old Bailey in London (Picture: PA).