Russia expels British diplomat from Moscow over spying claims

A British diplomat ⁠has been ordered to leave Russia after being accused of spying by Moscow.

The ⁠FSB, the main successor to the ⁠Soviet-era KGB, said that the ​second ⁠secretary at ‌the UK’s Moscow embassy had been ordered to leave within ‌two weeks after ‌counter-intelligence officers revealed the “undeclared intelligence presence”.

Claims made against the unnamed diplomat are “malicious” and “baseless”, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

The FSB said that ⁠it had found signs that the diplomat was “carrying out intelligence and subversive activities that threaten the security of the Russian ‌Federation,” Russian media reported.

In particular, ​the FSB said, ‌the diplomat ⁠had tried to obtain ⁠sensitive information about the Russian ‌economy ​during informal meetings.

They also claimed that he had “provided false information about himself”.

In January this year, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign ministry said it would not “tolerate the activities of undeclared British intelligence officers in Russia” after a different UK diplomat was expelled.

It comes days after Sir Keir Starmer announced British commandos will be able to board and halt Russia’s shadow fleet vessels as they pass through UK waters.

The prime minister said the UK would join northern European allies in intercepting the tankers, in an attempt to “go after” the sanction-breaking ships “even harder”.

Moscow’s shadow fleet is reported to be made up of more than a thousand ageing tankers.

They illicitly ship oil and other goods out of Russia by flying the flags of other countries, with the aim of evading sanctions imposed by the West since the invasion of Ukraine began.

On Thursday afternoon, a crude oil tanker flying under the Russian flag was located on the Marine Traffic monitoring website off the Sussex coast. The vessel, named Liteyny Prospect, is on the UK sanctions list.

A Government spokesman said: “We will not comment on specific operational planning or give a running commentary as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against these ships, only benefitting our adversaries.

“In general terms, any target ship will be individually considered by law enforcement, military and energy market specialists before an operation is executed.”

British forces have already been involved in tracking shadow fleet vessels for several years, and have supported operations by other countries to seize the ships.

In January, the UK assisted in the seizure of the oil tanker Marinera by the US.

Previously known as the Bella-1, the Russian-flagged vessel was captured by American forces aided by RAF aircraft and the British supply ship RFA Tideforce in the Atlantic.

Later that same month, Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Dagger helped the French seize another sanctioned ship, the Grinch, in the western Mediterranean, shadowing the vessel through the Strait of Gibraltar.

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