The Foreign Office has revoked the accreditation of a Russian diplomat after a British diplomat was expelled from Moscow last year.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the Russian ambassador to the UK was summoned to a meeting with a senior British official to revoke the accreditation of the diplomat.
“This is in response to Russia’s unprovoked and baseless decision to strip the accreditation of a British diplomat in Moscow in November,” they said.
“The UK will not stand for intimidation of our staff in this way, and so we are taking reciprocal action.
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“Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly.”
Shortly after the announcement, Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted on X: “We’ve stripped a Russian diplomat’s accreditation, following Russia’s recent expulsion of a British diplomat.
“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.
“My message to Russia is clear – if you take action against us, we will respond.”
It comes after the TASS Russian state news agency said in November that an employee of the British Embassy in Moscow had been stripped of his accreditation “for intentionally providing false information when entering the Russian Federation” and accused him of espionage.
TASS claimed he had provided false information to enter the country and alleged he was engaged in spying and sabotage.
It said it had found evidence the diplomat was involved in “reconnaissance and subversive work that threatens the security of the Russian Federation”.
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The British diplomat who was expelled by Moscow in November worked at the embassy in Moscow and had replaced one of six British intelligence officers who were expelled in August, according to TASS.
The Foreign Office also rejected Russia’s accusations that the six diplomats had been engaged in “spying and sabotage” as “baseless”.
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In May last year, the UK also expelled Russia’s defence attache in London, Colonel Maxim Elovik, claiming he was an “undeclared military intelligence officer”.
The government also removed diplomatic status from several Russian-owned premises and placed restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas.
In response, Russia expelled Britain’s defence attache in Moscow, Captain Adrian Coghill.
