LONDON: Britain is revoking the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, the foreign ministry said Thursday, after Moscow last November expelled a British official accusing him of espionage.
The UK “will not stand for intimidation of our staff in this way, and so we are taking reciprocal action,” the foreign ministry in London said in a statement.
The ministry said it had summoned Russia’s ambassador and told him the move was in “response to Russia’s unprovoked and baseless decision to strip the accreditation of a British diplomat in Moscow in November.”
It added that “any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a social media post that London was “unapologetic about protecting our national interests.”
“My message to Russia is clear — if you take action against us, we will respond.”
Russia expelled the British diplomat in November amid accusations of spying, telling the UK it would not tolerate “undeclared” intelligence officers operating on its territory.
It was the latest in a string of espionage claims as relations between the two countries run at an all-time low.
Just months earlier, Moscow had withdrawn the accreditation of six UK diplomats for suspected espionage and “threatening Russia’s security.”
That followed London announcing last May that it was expelling the Russian defense attache for spying, and removing diplomatic premises status from several Russian properties.
It also imposed a five-year limit on Russian diplomats’ postings, which led to a number leaving the UK.
