British soldier jailed for leaking military secrets to Iran is now working as salsa teacher in Brighton

A British soldier jailed for leaking military secrets to Iran is now working as a salsa teacher in Brighton, it has emerged.

Dual Iranian national Daniel James - born Esmail Mohammed Gamasai - was convicted in 2008 after handing over key details surrounding Nato operations to Tehran while serving in Afghanistan.

Mr James - who was born in the Islamic Republic himself - was found to be corresponding with Colonel Mohammad Hossein Heydari, passing on highly sensitive information surrounding munitions, fuel supplies and military movements.

He told the Iranian military attache in Kabul that he was "at your service".

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He was convicted of three charges under the Official Secrets Act of communicating and collecting information likely to be useful to an enemy, and willful misconduct in a public office at the Old Bailey.

The court heard that he could have passed intel on which "posed a threat to the lives of UK and Nato service personnel in Afghanistan and elsewhere".

He claimed he began handing the sensitive details over to the Iranians after being overlooked for a promotion by "racist" colleagues.

The British-Iranian dual national was subsequently jailed for 10 years - but served just 36 months of his sentence in December 2011.

Since leaving prison, he has since moved to Brighton, the Daily Mail revealed.

When probed by the newspaper, Mr James said: "It was a long time ago. I have put it behind me. I don't want to talk about it - I am just getting on with my life.

He now works as a salsa instructor and claims to be the "No1 in Brighton", according to his promotional material.

Mr James has run classes at a pub in the South Coast city, where he has also hosted Latin-themed events and DJed alongside professional dancers.

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Intelligence figures have said Mr James being allowed to keep his citizenship and remain in Britain is a slap in the face to veterans who served in Afghanistan.

Ex-Army intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram told the Mail: "As a dual national, his citizenship could and should have been revoked and him thrown out of the country to go and live in Iran.

"That probably resulted in the deaths of Allied troops. As a dual national, his citizenship could and should have been revoked and him thrown out of the country to go and live in Iran."

He added: "He let his colleagues, and his country, down".

Meanwhile the University of Buckingham's Professor Anthony Glees said: "His shamelessness is disgusting to decent people. He should not be teaching salsa in Brighton - he should be living in exile in Tehran.

"The sentence was insultingly light. There was a real chance that people died because of his espionage, and a 10-year sentence was an offence to every British serviceman who fought and died against the Taliban - and, in effect, against Iran".

Mr James is not the only former British solider to be jailed for passing secrets on to Iran.

In February 2025, Daniel Khalife - a half-Iranian ex-Royal Signals troop - was handed down a 14-year sentence after passing on secret information of special forces personnel to the Islamic Republic's intelligence services.

A nationwide manhunt was launched after he escaped from HMP Wandsworth, but Khalife was captured in west London just three days later.

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