Liverpool man charged under National Security Act over foreign intelligence aid

Vahid Aberi, of Liverpool, was charged with a National Security Act offence after Counter Terrorism Policing officers arrested a man in the Birmingham area on Wednesday, 15 July. The Metropolitan Police said the case followed a proactive investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London.

Aberi, 39, was charged under section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, the provision covering assisting a foreign intelligence service. That places the allegation within a newer set of UK national-security laws designed to address espionage and intelligence activity linked to overseas states.

The charge does not resolve the underlying allegation itself, but it confirms that investigators and prosecutors are treating the case as one involving foreign intelligence concerns rather than an ordinary criminal matter. The use of the National Security Act also shows how police have begun to lean on the legislation when pursuing conduct they believe may support external intelligence operations.

Counter Terrorism Policing London carried out the arrest in Birmingham before the charge was brought. The Metropolitan Police identified the suspect as a 39-year-old man and said the investigation had been proactive, indicating the case emerged from intelligence-led work rather than a routine response to a separate offence.

Section 3 of the 2023 Act has become one of the central tools for tackling suspected foreign espionage activity in the UK. In this case, authorities say the issue is assisting a foreign intelligence service, a charge that underscores the government’s heightened focus on domestic security risks tied to outside influence and covert state activity.

Aberi remains accused under that law, and the case now sits as one of the clearer examples of how the National Security Act is being applied in practice to suspected foreign intelligence assistance.