Russia expels six British diplomats from Moscow for ‘spying and sabotage’
Six British diplomats have been expelled from Russia after being accused of “spying and sabotage”.
The country’s FSB security service said they worked in the “political department” of the British embassy in Moscow.
A Foreign Office spokesperson called the claims “completely baseless”.
Ukraine war latest: Putin threatens NATO with ‘war’ over long-range missiles
They said the diplomats’ had been expelled in August “following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK”.
“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests,” the spokesperson added.
The FSB claimed the Eastern Europe and Central Asia branch of the Foreign Office was now a “special service whose main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country”.
News of the expulsion comes as President Vladimir Putin warned against Ukraine getting approval to use Western-supplied long-range missiles against Russia.
He said it would “significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict” and “mean that NATO countries, US, European countries are at war with Russia“.
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Putin: ‘It will mean the direct participation of NATO.’
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden will meet in Washington on Friday with a decision on approving the missiles believed to be imminent.
On the plane to the US, Sir Keir said Britain did not “seek any conflict with Russia”.
“Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict straight away,” he told reporters.
“Ukraine has the right to self-defence and we’ve obviously been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self-defence – we’re providing training capability, as you know,” said the prime minister
“But we don’t seek any conflict with Russia – that’s not our intention in the slightest.”
Kremlin ‘punishes’ UK – but timing of announcement is interesting
The very public expulsion by Russia of six British diplomats in Moscow, accused of involvement in spying and sabotage, is a way for the Kremlin to punish London.
Revoking the accreditation of diplomats is a tool that all countries can use to attack each other or send signals of anger.
The UK expelled almost two dozen Russia officials in London, accused of spying, in the wake of the novichok nerve agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal, the former Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia in 2018.
This triggered a tit-for tat rejection of some British officials at the embassy in Moscow.
In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there have been further expulsions by the UK and – in much greater numbers – other European allies.
In May of this year, Britain announced it was expelling Russia’s defence attache, accusing him of being an “undeclared military intelligence officer” amid concerns about what the UK described as a campaign of “malign activity” by Moscow across the UK and Europe.
The Kremlin retaliated by expelling the British defence attache from Moscow.
The most recent expulsions of UK diplomats are thought to be linked to these escalating tensions as opposed to having anything to do with the UK support for Ukraine.
However, the timing of the publication of the decision by Russian state media on Friday is interesting.
It comes as the UK and the US are weighing up whether to allow Ukraine to use their long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia – a move that President Putin has said would be regarded as Western allies directly joining the war against Russia.
Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden are due to meeting Washington on Friday with a decision of green-lighting the use of UK-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles thought to be imminent.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has for months been asking permission to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles, as well as US-made ATACMS missiles, into Russia to limit its ability to launch attacks.
The dial may now have shifted after the US accused Russia of taking delivery of ballistic missiles from Iran, against the warnings of the West.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken called it a “dramatic escalation”.
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Biden could allow Ukraine to hit Russia with US missiles
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President Biden has previously limited the distance US-provided missiles can be fired across the border amid concerns over an escalation.
Five weeks ago, Ukraine also launched an incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in a bid to gain an advantage in the war and divert Russian troops from Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
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President Zelenskyy said on Thursday Russia had started a “counteroffensive action” in Kursk, but that Ukrainian forces had anticipated it and were ready to fight.
Russia’s defence ministry said 10 settlements had been recaptured.
The UK will “set out a plan” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.
Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.
There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA
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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.
They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.
“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”
The defence review will also be published in the spring.
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Putin warns US and UK over ‘escalation of aggressive actions’
While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.
They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.
Snow, rain and strong winds are expected to disrupt travel plans and potentially cause flooding as Storm Bert hits the UK.
Several weather warnings are in place, while 16 flood alerts have been issued – warning flooding is possible – in England and Scotland.
Most of the UK is affected by yellow warnings for either wind, rain or snow, with a slightly more severe amber warning covering parts of northern England and central Scotland.
Two areas of Ireland have been issued a rare red warning for heavy rain until 10am.
Check out the forecast in your area
London, East Anglia, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull and swathes of the Midlands are the only parts with no current warnings in place.
The warnings in place. Pic: Met Office
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern described a “multiple hazard event” going into Saturday morning.
“We’ll see two to four hours of heavy snow across parts of northern England and Scotland during Saturday morning,” he said.
“This snow will accumulate thick and fast, with five to 10cm at lower levels and as much as 20 to 40cm over hills accompanied by strong winds.
“You can expect blizzards over hills across northern England and Scotland, atrocious conditions for travelling and going over the hills and also the risk of power interruptions because of snow build up on power lines.
“So all in all, a multiple hazard event as we go into Saturday morning.”
Temperatures will rise quickly as the storm brings milder air from the Atlantic, he said, resulting in a “rapid thaw” by the afternoon.
What the weather warnings mean
• Yellow – people are advised to check the details of the forecast and consider extra steps to minimise any impact, while disruption is likely, particularly for travel;
• Amber – disruption is more likely and more widespread and people are advised to change plans impacted by weather;
• Red – reserved for very dangerous weather that can pose a danger to life and cause substantial travel disruption.
Travel disruption
While airports are not expecting disruption, rail companies have announced service changes over the weekend.
In Scotland, there will be speed restrictions on the West Highland Line, Highland Mainline, Stranraer Line, Glasgow South Western Line, Far North Line, and West Coast Mainline between Carstairs and the border.
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ScotRail has also withdrawn services from Inverness to Elgin, Aberdeen to Inverurie, and Glasgow Queen Street to Oban.
The TransPennine Express, meanwhile, “strongly” urged customers not to travel north of Carlisle on Saturday and Avanti West Coast advised against travel north of Preston.
UK
Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens
Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.
The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.
Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.
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Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA
Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.
“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”
The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.
Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.
“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”
Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.
It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.
“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.
“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.
Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.
People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.
The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.
Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.
More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
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