Britain expels Russian military official suspected of espionage

The British government said on Wednesday it has expelled Russia’s defense attaché for being a “black” spy, as part of a series of measures against Moscow’s intelligence-gathering operations in Britain.

Britain’s Home Office said the measures being introduced this week are intended to send a strong deterrent message to Russia and include removing the status of diplomatic buildings from Russian properties in the country and imposing new restrictions on their diplomatic Visa.

The government said it had called on Russia’s ambassador to Britain to pass on these measures and reiterate that Russia’s actions will not be tolerated.

“National security is the first duty of the government. I will do everything I can to ensure we protect our people and our allies,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Among steps announced by the Home Office, Britain expelled the Russian defense attaché as “an undeclared military intelligence officer”; will revoke the diplomatic building status of several Russian properties in Britain, including Seacox Heath – a Russian-owned property in Sussex – and the Trade and Defense Section in Highgate, London, which is believed to have been used for ‘intelligence purposes’; and will impose new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas, including a ‘cap’ on the length of time Russian diplomats can spend in Britain.

“We are taking action to send a strong deterrent message to Russia and to further limit the ability of Russia’s intelligence services to threaten Britain,” British Home Secretary James Cleverly said.

“We will remain steadfast in the face of the Russian threat to Britain and our way of life,” he said.

The minister indicated that this is the latest in a series of “robust measures” taken against Russia following a pattern of “malicious activities” over the past year believed to be linked to Moscow.

This includes five Bulgarian nationals accused of conspiring to carry out espionage activities in Britain on behalf of Russia.

A sixth person was later charged and legal proceedings are underway for all.

“Since its illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s attempts to undermine British and European security have become increasingly brazen. These measures send an unequivocal message to the Russian state: their actions will not go unanswered,” said British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

“Together with our allies, we continue to send a strong message to (Russian President) Putin that we will not tolerate his disruptive efforts and will not be intimidated by his threats – we will continue to stand up for freedom and democracy for as long as it takes,” the added British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps added.

Last month, five people became the first to be charged in connection with an investigation into alleged crimes under the UK’s National Security Act. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed at the time that it was linked to alleged ‘hostile activities in Britain on behalf of a foreign state – namely Russia’.

The Home Office said Britain and its allies have also attributed several malicious cyber activity incidents in Britain to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in recent years, including targeting British parliamentarians through spear-phishing campaigns, hacking and leaks of British-American information. trade documents and interference in a British think tank working to defend democracy against disinformation.

In Europe, the Russian government is said to have planned sabotage activities against military aid to Ukraine in Germany and Poland and carried out alleged espionage activities in Bulgaria and Italy; cyber and disinformation activities; violations of airspace; and GPS interference affecting civil aviation. Following the Russian state-sponsored attack in Salisbury in 2018, Britain and its allies took unprecedented steps to make Europe a more difficult operating environment for Russia’s intelligence services, including expelling 23 undeclared Russian intelligence officers from Britain. said.

Security is a top priority for this government and the UK National Security Act 2023 includes a range of measures used to strengthen efforts to detect, deter and disrupt state threats, including by increasing police powers to investigate state threat activities.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)