Russia to expel 23 UK diplomats in spy row
Russia is to expel 23 British diplomats in a row over the nerve agent attack on an-ex spy and his daughter in the UK.
The Russian foreign ministry said the UK staff would be expelled from Moscow within a week in response to Britain's decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats.
It also said it would close the British Council in Russia, which promotes cultural ties between the nations, and the British Consulate in St Petersburg.
Advertisement
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said: "We anticipated a response of this kind."
She said that the government will consider its next steps "in the coming days, alongside our allies and partners".
"We will never tolerate a threat to the life of British citizens and others on British soil from the Russian Government," she added.
The British Council, the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, said it was "profoundly disappointed" at being told to cease operations in Russia.
'Shocking and unforgivable'
The UK ordered Russian diplomats to leave the country over the incident on 4 March which the UK government has blamed on Russia - but which Russia denies.
Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, remain critically ill in hospital, after they were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
The UK government says they were poisoned with a nerve agent of a type developed by Russia called Novichok, and PM Theresa May has said she believes Moscow is "culpable".
On Friday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the nerve agent attack.
Responding, Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the accusations were "shocking and unforgivable".
The tensions come as presidential elections take place in Russia.
Britain's ambassador to Russia, Laurie Bristow, was summoned to Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday.
Following the meeting, Mr Bristow said the UK had no quarrel with the Russian people and would "always do what is necessary to defend ourselves".
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that the British diplomats would be "declared persona non grata", adding that it "reserves the right to introduce other retaliatory measures in case of further unfriendly actions".
It said it was responding to "provocative actions" and "unproven accusations" by Britain.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, speaking in Newcastle, said the emphasis should be on a thorough investigation through the Chemical Weapons Convention.
"We have to establish exactly where the nerve gas came from, who administered it and prosecute if we can," he said.
A Downing Street spokesman has said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been invited to come to the UK to take a sample of the nerve agent.
Meanwhile, counter-terrorism police have renewed their appeal for witnesses who may have seen Mr Skripal's burgundy BMW car in Salisbury on 4 March.
Neil Basu, Met Police Assistant Commissioner, said: "We are learning more about Sergei and Yulia's movements but we need to be clearer around their exact movements on the morning of the incident."
Police believe the car - registration plate HD09 WAO - may have been in the areas of London Road, Churchill Way North and Wilton Road at about 09:15 GMT. At about 13:30 GMT it was seen being driven down Devizes Road towards the centre of town.
Mr Basu said investigators were making good progress but further work could take "months".
He added that the continued presence of officers in the area wearing specialist protective clothing was a precaution and that the risk to the public was low.
Det Sgt Nick Bailey, who was part of the initial response to the incident, remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being exposed to the chemical.
Police warning to exiles
Elsewhere, the Met Police have launched a murder investigation into the death of businessman and Kremlin critic Nikolai Glushkov - a Russian exile who was found dead in his south-London home on Monday.
A post-mortem examination found the 68-year-old died from "compression to the neck".
Police say there is no evidence at this stage linking his case with the Salisbury attack.
However, they have begun to contact a number of Russian exiles to discuss their safety.
Russia has also opened criminal investigations into "the murder" of Mr Glushkov, and the "attempted murder" of Ms Skripal.
Culled from The BBC
