Foreign Office expels Russian diplomat in tit-for-tat move after ‘spying’ row | Politics News

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 for 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.

“Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly.”

It comes after the TASS state news agency in November said 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.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.