An army interpreter who was jailed for treason has been forced to repay a legal aid bill of nearly a quarter of a million pounds.

Daniel James, a Brighton salsa instructor and Territorial Army corporal who became a top-level interpreter in Afghanistan, was made to repay the sum after being found guilty of treason in 2008.

He had been granted legal aid for his Old Bailey trial but when he was means-tested later it was found he should not have qualified for help.

James, then 45, of Cliff Road, Brighton, was sentenced to ten years for communicating information useful to an enemy by sending coded emails to an Iranian intelligence officer.

He was at the forefront of a late-1990s salsa-dancing boom in Brighton, and ran Club New York in Dyke Road, Brighton, from 2000 to 2005.

Originally from Iran, as a Territorial Army soldier his knowledge of the languages Dari and Farsi meant he was called up to serve as an interpreter to General Sir David Richards.

Prosecutors said bitterness at being passed over for promotion motivated him to try to pass secrets to Iran.

After his trial a “recovery of defence costs order” was made demanding he repay almost £250,000.

Now the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has confirmed the money has been paid back.

Owen Mapley, the Legal Services Commission’s finance and corporate services director, said: “This is a great outcome for both the LSC and taxpayers.

“It shows that strong financial management on a day-to-day basis can result in significant rewards.

“The money that has been recovered will be reinvested into the legal aid fund so |that it can be used to help other clients.”