London: A British man was charged Thursday with allegedly working with Russian spies to sabotage a drone manufacturing factory in England, prosecutors told a London court.

Joshua Cammidge, 31, is accused of engaging in conduct intended to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in activities prohibited under the National Security Act.

Cammidge did not enter a plea during his first court appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He was remanded in custody and ordered to appear at the Central Criminal Court on Sept. 25.

Prosecutor Warren Stanier told the court that Cammidge had been in contact with a suspected representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps, an organisation controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency.

“The essence of communications was locations within the U.K. of factories that manufactured drones and the sabotage of those factories,” Stanier said. “He knew exactly who he was communicating with and the implications of what he was offering to do.”

British authorities designated the GRU Volunteer Corps as a national security threat in July, accusing it of collecting foreign intelligence and carrying out hostile covert operations on behalf of Russian military intelligence.

A new law has banned support for the group and is intended to give the government greater powers to tackle proxy organisations conducting hostile activities on behalf of foreign states. Those convicted of supporting the organisation face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

U.K. authorities have previously accused Russia's GRU of hostile activities targeting Britain and its allies, including the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack and a broader campaign of sabotage and intelligence operations across Europe.

Prosecutors allege that between March and early September, Cammidge provided information about four drone manufacturing sites in his hometown of Swindon, west of London.

The case comes as Britain continues to strengthen its response to alleged Russian espionage, sabotage and other hostile activities on British soil.