Russia has revoked the accreditation of a British diplomat over “intelligence and subversive activities,” the Federal Security Service said on Monday.
The diplomat, identified as second secretary of the British Embassy, Janse Van Rensburg, has been ordered to leave the country within two weeks, according to an FSB statement.
The security service said it had documented the diplomat’s attempts to obtain sensitive information during informal meetings with Russian economic experts.
It also said that the British diplomat provided false information when entering Russia and was involved in activities posing a threat to the country’s national security.
Russia ordered the British diplomat to leave the country over allegations of spying, the latest in a series of expulsions of embassy staff from both sides.
The Federal Security Service claims the man provided false information when applying to enter the country, as well as trying to obtain sensitive information during informal economic meetings, according to state media reports.
The diplomat has had their accreditation revoked and has been ordered to leave the country within two weeks.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman called the move “complete nonsense” and accused Russia of an “aggressive and co-ordinated campaign of harassment against British diplomats”.
In a statement, they said Russia has been “pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work”.
“The UK does not stand for intimidation of British embassy staff and their families,” they added.
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The FSB claims the diplomat “intentionally provided false information” when obtaining a permit to enter Russia, and that there were “signs of intelligence activities” detected.
Following the expulsion, the UK’s charge d’affaires Danae Dholakia was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, which she reportedly left without comment.
This is just the latest in what is a series of tit-for-tat responses from Russia and the UK.
Diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia have worsened in recent years, with both countries expelling a number of each other’s diplomats since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Earlier this year, Russia expelled a British diplomat from the country over spying allegations.
In March 2025, Russia expelled two British officials over accusations of spying, with the UK Foreign Office accusing Moscow of “malicious and baseless accusations” against its staff.
The UK, in response, revoked accreditation for a Russian diplomat and a diplomatic spouse, saying it would “not stand for intimidation of British embassy staff and their families”.
NAN
