Russia accuses six British diplomats of spying

The country's security service FSB said in a statement it had received documents indicating Britain's involvement in inflicting "a strategic defeat" on Russia.

The six diplomats have been named and pictured on Russian state TV. The UK has not yet responded but the Foreign Office has been approached for comment by the BBC.

It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrives in Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine, including whether to give Kyiv permission to fire their missiles at targets inside Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Moscow will regard this as a serious escalation of the war which equates to "direct participation" of Nato countries.

“If that is the case, we will take corresponding decisions based on the threats that will be created to us,” he said on state TV.

Former national security advisor Lord Peter Ricketts said the withdrawal of diplomatic accreditation was a retaliatory punishment for the upcoming meeting in Washington and the UK's continued military support of Ukraine.

"The timing is too coincidental," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, describing the allegations levelled at the six diplomats as "trumped up".

Lord Ricketts said he was not surprised President Putin took the opportunity to "strike first" in a move to try and "intimidate western politicians".

Diplomatic accreditation is given by the host nation to recognise a person’s diplomatic status, as set out by the UN.

Without it, a person does not have official diplomatic status.

Announcing the decision, the FSB said the diplomats had shown signs of conducting intelligence and were tasked with inflicting a "strategic defeat on our country".

In a Telegram post, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow "fully share the assessments" made by the FSB on the activities of the diplomats.

"The British embassy has gone far beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna Conventions [UN treaty on diplomatic relations]," she said

An FSB officer told Russian media "hints" to "stop this practice [of gathering intelligence]", were not heeded.

The security service added that it would revoke accreditation from more British diplomats if they are found to be involved in similar activity.

Expulsions of diplomats have become increasingly common since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Earlier this year, British diplomat Capt Adrian Coghill was given a week to leave Russia, days after the Russian defence attaché was expelled from London for alleged espionage as an "undeclared military intelligence officer".

On Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would provide £600m ($780m) in aid to Ukraine to support the country's "humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs".

Last week's summit in Germany also saw the UK commit to sending hundreds more short-range missiles to Ukraine, with the US pledging a further $250m (£189.9m) in military aid.

-BBC