Senior British soldier passed secrets to Iran

An aide to the commander of British forces in Afghanistan was charged with divulging official secrets after allegedly passing confidential information to Iran, two British newspapers reported Thursday.

The Daily Telegraph and the Times reported that the man, Daniel James, is a corporal in the British Army, and had acted as translator for Gen. David Richards, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Charges against James were heard in a London court Wednesday, but the bulk of proceedings were closed to the media. On Thursday, London police refused to comment on the information reported by the newspapers; the NATO spokesman in Kabul, Maj. Dominic Whyte, referred questions to British police.

AP