A 64-year-old man, identified as Howard Michael Phillips, was charged by the Metropolitan Police with offenses under the National Security Act 2023, according to a police press report issued Wednesday. He appeared at Westminister Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to confirm his address and date of birth. Judge Daniel Sternberg denied Phillips bail and ordered him to appear at the Old Bailey, the UK’s Central Criminal Court, on June 14.

Phillips was arrested without a warrant on May 16. This new, controversial power is given under Section 27 of the National Security Act 2023, allowing people to be detained if they are “reasonably suspected to be involved in foreign power threat activity”.

A warrant of further detention was given at Westminister Magistrates’ Court, allowing the police to detain him until Thursday, May 23. On Wednesday, after consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Phillips was charged under Section 3, which relates to”materially assisting a foreign service”. The police press report indicates that these charges relate to cooperation with Russia.

The police have not released any more details yet, but they have made clear that his arrest is “not connected to any other recent charges or investigations” and there is “not believed to be any threat to the wider public”. An unrelated case in April saw two British men charged with helping Russian intelligence services after a suspected arson attack on a Ukraine-linked London business.