Russia's claim six British diplomats were spying 'completely baseless', says UK
The Foreign Office said six British diplomats were kicked out of Russia in August, as ITV News Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana reports
Accusations made by Russia that six British diplomats were foreign spies are "completely baseless", the UK government has said.
Russia's Federal Security Service - known as the FSB - said on Friday that a decision had been made to withdraw the diplomats' accreditation at the British Embassy in Moscow's political department.
It claimed it had received documents suggesting the diplomats were sent to Russia by a division of the Foreign Office "whose main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country".
A statement from the agency added the move was in response to "numerous unfriendly steps" by London and after "signs of spying and sabotage" were found in the diplomats' actions.
In response, the Foreign Office said the claims are "completely baseless" and said its staff left the country in August.
“The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia last month, following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK," the spokesperson said.
“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.”
The diplomats involved left Russia weeks ago and are already being replaced, ITV News understands.
Maria Zakharova, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the British diplomats were carrying out “subversive actions aimed at causing harm to our people”.
She said: “We fully agree with the assessments of the activities of the British so-called diplomats expressed by the Russian FSB.
“The British Embassy has gone far beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna Conventions.”
The news comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer meets US President Joe Biden in Washington and is expected to discuss Ukraine’s plea for restrictions to be lifted on using Western weaponry against Russian targets.
Concern about the conflict escalating has been one of the reasons why permission has not yet been given to Kyiv.
The United States and the United Kingdom this week pledged further financial support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
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Packages worth £600 million and £550 million have been pledged by the UK and US respectively to meet immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued to urge western support for the use of long-range missiles to attack targets in Russia.
He told ITV News that Kyiv is "waiting" for British "permission" to use the weapons, adding his country needs the arms to "survive".
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday and renewed calls for Britain to allow the country to use Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia.
“It is vital that Ukraine should be able to defend itself properly by stopping the appalling Russian attacks with glide bombs and now Iranian missiles,” Johnson said following the meeting.“It is obvious that they should be able to use Storm Shadow, Scalp and ATACMS as fast as possible against targets in Russia itself. Every day that goes by means more pointless and tragic loss of Ukrainian lives.”
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that allowing long-range strikes would mean that Nato countries, the US, and European countries are “at war with Russia”.
'Putin is doing a lot of words and a lot of actions which are provocative', says Technology Secretary Peter Kyle
Starmer responded to the remarks ahead of his meeting with Biden, telling journalists that “Ukraine has the right to self-defence” but stressing that “we don’t seek any conflict with Russia”.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told ITV News that Putin has been talking and acting "provocatively".
"If he wants to end this war in Ukraine, if he wants this to stop, then all he has to do is stop the aggression on the border with Ukraine and the aggression against Ukraine," he added.
Starmer is expected to meet with Biden on Friday, when they will discuss efforts to resolve the European conflict as well as Israel's continued war with Hamas.
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