espionage

Earhart's disappearance during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe spawned numerous theories - from a simple crash due to fuel exhaustion to more elaborate claims of Japanese capture or US government espionage.

He said police told him that the arrest related to espionage and rendering services to a foreign country, the paper reports.

The ruling said the espionage was carried out "over a very long period of time" and involved sharing "important diplomatic intelligence".

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were on a motorcycle trip around the world when they were detained by Iranian authorities in January and later charged with espionage – something the family denies.

The Speaker of the Commons has said that the decision to drop the charges against two men accused of spying for China could leave parliament vulnerable to espionage.