VLADIMIR Putin has expelled two British diplomats after reportedly accusing them of being spies.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced a pair of workers connected to Britain’s embassy in Moscow have been ordered to leave the country, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
AFPVladimir Putin has expelled two British diplomats in Moscow after Russia accused them of being spies[/caption]
Both individuals had deliberately declared false information about themselves when entering Russia, the FSB claimed.
They were also accused of “intelligence and subversive activities that threaten Russia’s security”, according to state news outlets.
The Kremlin security service added that “both will be stripped of their accreditation and must leave Russia within two weeks”.
It comes as earlier this month, a Russian spy ring who carried out espionage operations for Putin’s regime while bedding each other were caught.
Two women, known as the “killer sexy brunettes,” were in a love triangle with a leading member of the cell of six Bulgarian spies living and working in the UK.
The issue of Russian spies are feared to be a growing trend, says counter-terror chief Commander Dominic Murphy.
In September 2024, the accreditation of six diplomats were also terminated.
Later on in November, a second secretary of the British embassy’s department was ordered to leave Russia.
Growing trend of Russian spying on British soil
A counter-terrorism chief has warned of the growing trend of Russia using criminal proxies to spy on British soil.
Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command vowed never to take his “eye off the ball” as he hailed his team’s success.
He said: “This is one of the largest and most complex examples of a group working for a foreign state to conduct intelligence surveillance operations here in the UK so it is a very significant case and I am very proud of the investigation team and the success they have had.
“This investigation uncovered spying on behalf of the Russian state on an industrial case, in this case committed by a group of Bulgarians contracted by an individual to conduct that spying on behalf of Russia.
“As the UK becomes a more hostile environment as a result of our work we will see them increasingly use proxies to conduct their activities.”
The ring was smashed in raids on properties in London and ringleader Orlin Roussev’s address in Great Yarmouth in February 2023, where police uncovered a treasure trove of hi-tech spyware.
On the challenges faced by enemy states operating on UK soil, he said: “Within counter-terrorism policing we are seeing more than 20% of our demand now coming from threat posed from foreign states to our national security so this is an ever growing challenge for us.
“We are committed to working closely with intelligence agencies in this country and our international partners to disrupt activity by foreign states.
“We have been working hard to make the UK a hostile working operating environment for these countries and this is an example of that because this group were contracted to operate on behalf of Russian intelligence services because this is a hostile environment for them to operate in directly here.
“So some positives but we will never take our eye off the ball working with our partners to keep the UK safe.”