Lt Col Michael Morris, the former assistant military attaché at the US Embassy in London, faces a military hearing in November at Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC, where the US Air Force will decide whether his case should go to a court-martial. The Air Force has confirmed that charges have been preferred against him, but it has not specified what those charges are, and Morris will only enter a plea if the case is referred for trial.

Morris left the UK in August, before British police had a chance to question him. He was flown out on a civilian flight after US authorities told the Metropolitan Police they were investigating suspected offences involving indecent images of children. The case is now being handled entirely through the US military justice system, and the Air Force says Morris is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

What the November hearing will decide

The hearing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland is the next formal step in the military process. According to the Air Force, the charges and the evidence will be reviewed to determine whether the case should be tried by court-martial, the US military’s formal criminal trial. A court-martial has not yet been decided, and no date for a trial has been set.

Morris is currently assigned to the Air Force District of Washington while the case proceeds. In its statement to the BBC, the Air Force said: “Charges have been preferred against Lt Col Michael Morris, currently assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. The charges and evidence will be reviewed to determine whether the case should be tried by court-martial.” It added that charges are “merely allegations” and that Morris is “presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty”.

How Morris left the UK before police could question him

Morris served as an assistant military attaché at the American embassy in Nine Elms, south-west London. The BBC reported that he was flown out of the UK on a civilian flight in August, before British police questioned him. The Metropolitan Police said US authorities made them aware of an investigation into suspected offences involving indecent images of children on Tuesday, 25 August, and that the force has remained in regular contact with them since.

The US embassy said it had informed UK law enforcement and reassigned Morris to the US while inquiries continued. The UK government said at the time: “We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws, in the same way we expect all UK diplomats to do so when posted overseas.” The fact that Morris left before being questioned in the UK has raised questions about jurisdiction, because the alleged offences are said to have taken place while he was posted in London.

The investigation and his brother Benjamin Morris

American investigators alleged that Morris’s brother, Benjamin Morris, shared child sexual abuse material with him. Benjamin Morris, 33, is facing trial in the US state of Illinois for the possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse material, which he denies. Dora Villareal, the Rock Island County state attorney, told the BBC that the allegations against Benjamin Morris relate to March and April 2026.

Reports at the time said material linked to the investigation was found at Morris’s London home. Neither the Air Force nor the BBC has published a detailed account of the evidence, and the specific charges preferred against Lt Col Morris have not been made public.

What happens next

The November hearing at Joint Base Andrews will be the first public indication of how the Air Force intends to proceed. If the case is referred to a court-martial, Morris will then enter a plea and the matter will go to a full military trial. If it is not referred, the case could be dealt with in another way or dropped, but no outcome has been announced and no hearing date within November has been confirmed publicly.

For now, the position is unchanged from late October, when the charges were first confirmed: a senior US Air Force officer who worked at the London embassy faces military charges, a hearing is due this month in the United States, and the allegations against him have not been proven.