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Ex-spook remanded, court date set

A date has been set for a court hearing of an ex-Secret Intelligence Service agent accused of downloading classified British intelligence material onto a USB hard-drive and trying to sell it.Daniel Houghton, 25, was told via video link at Inner London Crown Court that his case would be heard at Woolwich Crown Court on 10 June.
Written by Tom Espiner, Contributor

A date has been set for a court hearing of an ex-Secret Intelligence Service agent accused of downloading classified British intelligence material onto a USB hard-drive and trying to sell it.

Daniel Houghton, 25, was told via video link at Inner London Crown Court that his case would be heard at Woolwich Crown Court on 10 June. Houghton will then plead guilty or not guilty, Mr Justice Bean told Inner London Crown Court on Thursday.

Houghton is accused of downloading sensitive electronic files between September 1 2007 and May 31 2009, and trying to sell them to a foreign power. Allegedly, the documents detailed techniques for intelligence collection, and included two staff lists, according to copies of court documents seen by ZDNet UK.

Houghton was remanded in custody until the June court hearing.

The ex-MI6 agent has been charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act and the Theft Act 1968. He was arrested on March 1, according to the documents.

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