Latest news with #TunbridgeWells
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
British man charged with spying for China in US military technology smuggling plot
A British man has been charged with spying for allegedly trying to smuggle "sensitive American military technology" to China. The US Justice Department said John Miller, who is from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, is accused of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act. The Justice Department added that the US is seeking to extradite Mr Miller from Serbia, along with his co-accused, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China. The most serious offence they are accused of – violation of the Arms Export Control Act – carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. According to the Mail on Sunday, a neighbour said Mr Miller, 63, often travelled to the Far East for work. Court documents released by the US Attorney's Office said the pair 'solicited the procurement of US defence articles, including missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices with associated crypto ignition keys for unlawful export from the United States to the People's Republic of China'. The pair reportedly discussed ways to export a cryptographic device from the US to China, including concealing the device in a blender, and shipping the device first to Hong Kong. Court documents said they paid around 10,000 dollars (£7,400) as a deposit for the cryptographic device via a courier in the US and a wire transfer to a US bank account. The two men are also said to have been part of a plot to prevent an individual who had been critical of China's President Xi Jinping from protesting his appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November 2023. In the weeks leading up to the Apec summit, they are accused of coordinating an interstate scheme to conduct surveillance on the victim by installing a tracking device on his car and slashing its tyres. Another offence relates to the spring of this year, when the dissenter announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statues of Mr Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, the accused are said to have paid two other individuals approximately 36,500 dollars (£27,010) to convince the victim to desist from the online display of the statues. These two individuals were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI. Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said: 'As alleged, the defendants targeted a US resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime. 'This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on US soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defence systems. 'We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.' US attorney Bill Essayli, for the Central District of California, said: 'The indictment alleges that Chinese foreign actors targeted a victim in our nation because he criticised the Chinese government and its president. 'My office will continue to use all legal methods available to hold accountable foreign nationals engaging in criminal activity on our soil.' Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said: 'The FBI will not tolerate transnational repression targeting those in the United States who express dissenting opinions about foreign leaders. 'Both defendants face serious stalking charges in Los Angeles and my office intends to hold them accountable for bullying a victim, a critic of the PRC (People's Republic of China), and targeting him with violence.' If convicted Mr Miller could also face the maximum penalties of five years in prison for conspiracy, five years in prison for interstate stalking, and 10 years in prison for smuggling.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE British father 'caught spying for China' in FBI sting: Businessman, 63, who referred to Chinese leader Xi Jingping as 'the Boss' and 'attempted to smuggle arms into Beijing' facing 40 years in US jail
A British businessman has been sensationally accused of spying for China and plotting to smuggle sensitive military technology to Beijing. John Miller, 63, was arrested on the orders of the FBI following a sting operation and is now awaiting extradition to the United States. Court documents seen by The Mail on Sunday show that Mr Miller referred to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as 'The Boss' in intercepted phone calls. The FBI said this demonstrated his 'awareness that he was acting at the direction and control of the [Chinese] government'. Last night, neighbours at the businessman's five-bedroom £1.5 million home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, expressed bemusement at the news and called him a 'respectable family man'. His wife volunteers at her local church, and the couple's daughter attended a leading public school. One said: 'They are the perfect family to have as neighbours.' Documents filed at the Eastern District Court of Wisconsin in Milwaukee allege Mr Miller tried to buy military hardware in the US for the People's Liberation Army, including missile launchers, air defence radars and Black Hornet 'microdrones' that can fly within feet of enemy soldiers and enter buildings to spy on troop positions. Other equipment he attempted to procure included a hand-held device approved by America's National Security Agency for the secure communication of 'classified and sensitive national security information'. According to the court papers, Mr Miller suggested smuggling a device by glueing it inside a food blender. He said it could then be 'sent via DHL or Fedex to Hong Kong'. The revelation comes as America warned that China is preparing to invade Taiwan. Mr Miller, who calls himself a recruitment specialist, was caught in a sting after the 'arms dealers' he was negotiating with turned out to be undercover FBI agents. He was arrested on April 24 while on a business trip to Belgrade, Serbia, where he was being held last night. He is accused of conspiring with US-based Chinese national, Cui Guanghai, 43. If convicted, both men face up to 40 years in prison. A 67-page indictment states that around December 2023, messages intercepted by the FBI showed that Mr Miller communicated with an unknown person a 'Christmas wish-list that included hardware and radar technology'. The list includes an offer of £37,000 for a Stinger portable missile launcher, £148,000 for two military drones, £668,000 for an AGM-88E anti-radiation missile system and £1.5 million for an air defence radar system. Mr Miller told an undercover FBI agent that the hardware would be reverse-engineered – or copied – in China. Its government, he said, was willing to pay two to three times the cost to acquire such equipment. The indictment also accuses the pair of mounting a surveillance and harassment operation in the US against a Chinese-American artist, a vocal critic of President Xi, hiring an investigator to put a tracking device on his car. It was claimed Mr Miller was trying to stop him from protesting during a visit by Xi to San Francisco in November 2023. The documents seen by The Mail on Sunday show that Mr Miller referred to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as 'The Boss' US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said: 'The defendants targeted a US resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime. This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. 'The Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on US soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defence systems.' According to the indictment, Mr Miller and Cui hired two people to buy an 'embarrassing' sculpture the artist made showing Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, kneeling on sand, naked from the waist up. The move was apparently intended to prevent the artist from displaying the work during a protest. 'The harassment scheme placed the victim in reasonable fear for his/her safety and the safety of his/her immediate family,' said the indictment. Unbeknown to Mr Miller the two people he hired were FBI investigators. At one point he ordered them to slash the artist's car tyres. They sent him pictures to show they had done as he asked – but in reality simply let the tyres down. Separately, Mr Miller and Cui tasked someone else with staging a protest against a visit by the president of Taiwan to the US. This person, who was actually an FBI informant, was specifically asked to make sure protesters held certain placards calling on the US not to intervene in Taiwan-Chinese tensions The indictment says: 'Miller specifically requested that protest signs include the following messages, 'Don't involve us in your war'; 'Don't let Taiwan become Ukraine 2'; 'Look after America first.'' The FBI informant hired actors to act as protesters in the fake demonstration, the indictment said. FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said: 'The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticised the actions of the People's Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America. The same individuals are also charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive US military technology to China. 'I want to commend the good work of the FBI and our partners in the US and overseas in putting a stop to these illegal activities.' After returning to the US from a visit to China in June 2023, Mr Miller boasted to undercover investigators that he met high-ranking Chinese government officials. He said the 'trip couldn't have gone better'. His wife answered the door of their home last night, where a Mercedes stood on the drive. She said she knew nothing of his arrest and added: 'I am not with Mr Miller.' A neighbour said: 'We know John often went to the Far East for his work. We would see him, then he would not be round for a few weeks or longer at a time, but we did not think anything of it. We knew his work involved a lot of travel but we did not really know what it was all about.' According to Companies House records, Mr Miller has been a director or a majority shareholder of at least nine firms including the now-dissolved TEFL Jobs China Ltd. TEFL usually stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Last night, the Foreign Office said: 'We are providing consular assistance to a British national following his arrest in Serbia in April and are in touch with the local authorities and his family.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Common 'exercise injury' was the only sign of super-fit 39 year-old's bowel cancer...now it's spread and he has to have a buttock removed
A keen runner has told how doctors missed the only sign of his bowel cancer, mistaking it for an exercise injury as it wasn't included in the list of 'typical' symptoms. Andy Spary, 39, from Tunbridge Wells, began to struggle with pain in his left buttock in March last year, describing the sensation as a 'severe burning'. But doctors who examined the carpenter at his local A&E said it was likely his pain was the result of a recent rollerskating injury. However, a subsequent MRI scan and biopsy revealed a tumour in his bowel, which had spread to nearby lymph nodes. Doctors delivered the devastating diagnosis of stage three bowel cancer. Medics suspect the development of the deadly disease was linked to his existing Crohn's disease, which features chronic inflammation and swelling in the digestive tract and can lead to cancer-causing abnormal cell growth. 'The tumour has branched off of my bowel to my buttocks area and is spreading,' said Mr Spary, who is married to Amy, 35. 'We're focusing on the positives, which helps, taking it that it's treatable and I can beat it.' In July last year, he underwent a procedure to prepare his body for chemotherapy, which involved fitting a stoma—where a part of the large bowel is brought through an opening in the stomach and attached to a bag to collect waste. Two months later he began chemotherapy and radiotherapy to shrink the disease, but doctors didn't see the results they'd hoped for Mr Spary had a second operation on May 21 which will hopefully leave him cancer-free with his stoma still in place. 'In an ideal world, if the treatment completely destroyed the tumour then the stoma could be reversed,' he said. 'But realistically I think this is rare. The plan was always to have surgery and end up with a stoma bag for life.' The surgery involved doctors removing the remaining section of his bowel, including what was left of his tumour, as well as a section of his buttocks. A plastic surgeon then carried out laparoscopic surgery to repair his pelvic floor and reconstruct his bottom using tissue from the area. 'One surgeon removes the tumour and then the plastic surgeon patches everything up. New bum, new me, all good,' he said. Another advantage of the operation is that it is likely to relieve him of his Crohn's symptoms because the affected area will mostly be removed. He said doctors are confident the surgery was a success but he will have to wait at least one month for a scan to confirm whether he is cancer-free. 'Keeping fit and healthy has been my best weapon,' said Mr Spary. He is now planning to run the 2026 London Marathon on behalf of cancer charity Trekstok for which he has so far raised more than £3,350 on GoFundMe. 'If I could make £10,000, that would be unbelievable,' he said. Mr Spary is currently recovering from surgery in hospital and hopes to be discharged by the end of May. He will have to relearn to walk with the help of physiotherapy before restarting his marathon training by the end of the year. So far, he has managed to sit up and take his first steps. 'Having the goal of running my first marathon next year – stoma bag and all – is my motivation to stay positive and keep going,' he said. 'After this process, I'll be back on my feet, stronger and fitter with no more Crohn's and no more cancer, sorted.' Mr Spary's story comes amid a startling rise in bowel cancer among young people in Britain. Between the early 1990s and 2018, the number of adults aged 25 to 49 being diagnosed with bowel cancer has risen 22 per cent in the UK— a rise that's among the fastest of all high income countries. Experts are not yet entirely sure what's causing this increase, but some have suggested it may be due to a combination of changing diets and exposure to environmental factors like pollution.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Chilling moment murderer jokes with police that his victim 'is under my bed in my flat' - as he is convicted of grabbing man off the street and choking him to death
A murderer who joked with police about the whereabouts of his victim, telling officers in a chilling moment 'He's under my bed in my flat', has been convicted. Stephen Castle was yesterday convicted of murdering Wayne Woodgate, 54, after a chance meeting in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The 59-year-old strangled Mr Woodgate, described as a 'much-loved' father and grandfather, over claims the latter was a 'grass'. During the trial, it emerged the killing was driven by a long-held grudge, with Castle blaming Woodgate for tipping off police in 2015. Castle had previously served seven and a half years in prison after firearms were discovered in his home during a police raid. Released bodycam footage shows Castle maintaining a surprisingly casual demeanor as officers told him he was under arrest for kidnap. A further clip then shows an officer carrying out an 'urgent interview' to try find the whereabouts of Mr Woodgate, at the end of which Castle says: 'He is under my bed in my flat'. The pair had not seen each other for 10 years before meeting in Tunbridge Wells at around 3:30pm on October 17, 2024. Wayne Woodgate was walking along Goods Station Road in the town centre when Stephen Castle confronted him. Castle threatened Woodgate and forced him into a Peugeot van driven by another man, the trial heard. Concerned witnesses saw the incident and called the police, who then tracked the van to Castle's home on Hastings Road, near Matfield. Castle was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and initially claimed he had met Woodgate to exchange drugs and insisted the victim had been safely dropped off nearby. Officers later found a hired Renault Trafic van parked outside Castle's address. Number plate recognition cameras showed the van leaving Castle's home at 4:15pm, heading toward a remote spot in East Sussex. Although initially released on bail, Castle was rearrested on October 22 on suspicion of murder. While in custody Castle protested about leaving his cell for an interview, saying: 'There's no point, I may as well go straight to prison; I'm going to do 25 years anyway'. CCTV enquiries led officers to Mr Woodgate's body, which was found on the following day in woodland off the A268 in Peasmarsh. He had been murdered with a ligature, police said, shortly after meeting Castle who had driven him to his home. At Maidstone Crown Court, Castle admitted killing his victim but claimed he had not intended to do so. He denied a charge of murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. A trial took place which concluded on May 28, 2025, when a jury found him guilty of murder by unanimous verdict. The trial was told the killing was the result of a 'long-standing grudge' held by Castle, who blamed Mr Woodgate for 'grassing'. Castle will be sentenced at the same court on June 26. Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, said:'Stephen Castle brutally killed a man he knew over a disagreement they had in the past. 'His actions after they met by chance in Tunbridge Wells were determined, ruthless and ultimately led to the senseless death of a much-loved father and grandfather. 'Castle has left a family in deep mourning and I only hope this conviction allows them some form of closure. 'I would like to thank the witnesses who assisted our investigation and ultimately helped us bring this violent criminal to justice.'
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Cold killer' who strangled a grandad to death found guilty
A man who strangled a "much-loved" grandfather and then dumped his body in undergrowth has been found guilty of murder. Stephen Castle, 59, killed 54-year-old Wayne Woodgate following a chance encounter in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Maidstone Crown Court heard that Castle had a longstanding grudge against Mr Woodgate, blaming him for a police raid on his home several years earlier which led to him going to jail. Mr Woodgate had told his stepson he feared ever seeing Castle again, believing he was "after him" as he thought he had grassed on him, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). 'Intended to kill' The jury was shown CCTV footage during the trial of Castle driving past Mr Woodgate in Goods Station Road on 17 October 2024. Kent Police said "concerned witnesses" saw Castle arguing with his victim before he threatened Mr Woodgate and another man forced him into a van. Castle then drove Mr Woodgate to his home, where they were alone, and strangled him to death, the prosecution said in court. Mr Woodgate's body was found six days later just off a main road near Peasmarsh, East Sussex, the CPS said. Will Bodiam from the CPS said Castle was not someone who "suddenly snapped". "This was a man who intended to kill," he said. Mr Bodiam continued that, although Castle maintained he was not a "cold killer", "forensic evidence told a different story in terms of the force and pressure he used to kill his victim." Man 'strangled victim out of anger', court hears After initially claiming to police he left Mr Woodgate safe and well, Castle changed his story and admitted he killed him, according to the CPS. "Even then, he [Castle] continued to lie about where he killed Wayne and repeatedly claimed that it was unintentional," said Mr Bodian. Kent Police called Mr Woodgate a "much-loved father and grandfather". "Castle has left a family in deep mourning," said the force's senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp Neil Kimber. "I only hope this conviction allows them some form of closure." Castle is due to be sentenced on 26 June.
