- By James Landale and Sophie Abdulla
- Diplomatic correspondent
Image source, Getty Images
A British diplomat has been given a week to leave Russia in an escalation of a diplomatic row over espionage.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the dismissal of Captain Adrian Coghill was a response to Britain’s “hostile anti-Russian actions”.
On May 8, the Russian military attaché was expelled from London for alleged espionage as an “undeclared military intelligence officer.”
Russia says its response “does not stop at this measure.”
He added that “the initiators of the escalation will be informed of the new retaliatory measures.”
This was inevitable following the UK’s earlier announcement that Russia would declare Capt Coghill, a Royal Naval officer and British defense attaché based at the Moscow embassy, persona non grata.
Russian political art closely follows the principle of proportionality, which means that for every gesture there must be a result.
British diplomats in Moscow will therefore expect new constraints.
All of this was reportedly taken into account when the government decided last week to crack down on Russian spying in the UK.
Ministers are understood to have decided that the loss of the British defense expert at the Moscow embassy was worth disrupting Russian activities in the UK.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps called Russia’s expulsion a “desperate decision.”
He said Russia’s only problem with Capt Coghill was that he “embodied the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of its illegal and barbaric invasion”.
The dismissal of Colonel Maxim Elovik was part of a number of other measures announced by the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry, as part of plans to “strengthen defenses against Russia’s alleged malicious activities” across Europe.
In April, five people were charged with conspiring to commit espionage in the UK on behalf of Russia under the National Security Act, the first such prosecution under of these new laws.
Other measures include removing the status of diplomatic premises on several Russian properties in the UK, including in Sussex and Highgate, which officials said had been used for “intelligence purposes”.
Russian diplomatic visas have also been affected, with restrictions including a cap on the length of time their holders can spend in the UK.
Prior to his assignment in London, Colonel Elovik served as Deputy Military Attaché at the Russian Embassy in Washington DC.
BBC News has contacted the Foreign Office for a response.
News Source : www.bbc.com
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