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Russia has announced the expulsion of a United Kingdom diplomat, accusing him of operating as an undercover intelligence officer.
In a statement on Thursday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned Britain’s chargé d’affaires to lodge a “strong protest” after receiving information from Russian security agencies that a member of the UK embassy staff was linked to British intelligence services.
According to the ministry, the diplomat’s accreditation has been revoked, and he has been ordered to leave the Russian Federation within two weeks.
“The individual’s accreditation is being withdrawn. He must depart the territory of the Russian Federation within 14 days,” the statement said.
Russian authorities later identified the diplomat as Gareth Samuel Davies, who is listed on Russia’s official register of accredited diplomats as the UK embassy’s second secretary.
Rising Diplomatic Tensions
Moscow and London have repeatedly expelled each other’s diplomatic staff over the past decade, with both sides trading accusations of espionage. Such actions have often been followed by retaliatory, tit-for-tat responses.
Russia warned the UK against escalating the situation, stating it would deliver a “firm and symmetrical response” should London decide to retaliate.
Relations between the two countries were already strained long before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking one of the lowest points in diplomatic ties in decades.
Long History of Spy Disputes
Espionage allegations have long troubled relations between Russia and the UK.
In 2006, former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko died in London after being poisoned with polonium, an act British investigators said was carried out by Russian state agents.
Another major incident occurred in 2018, when former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury. One British citizen later died after coming into contact with a discarded perfume bottle containing the toxin.
The incident triggered the largest coordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats—many accused of espionage—by Western nations in decades.
