Overview
- Russia’s FSB named the official as Gareth Samuel Davies, a second secretary at the British Embassy, and ordered him to leave within 14 days after revoking his accreditation.
- Britain’s charge d’affaires in Moscow, Danae Dholakia, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to receive the protest and departed without comment after roughly a quarter of an hour.
- The Russian Foreign Ministry warned it would deliver a decisive “mirror” response if London retaliates.
- Russian agencies offered no public evidence to support the spying claim, a point highlighted in UK statements rejecting the accusation.
- The expulsion continues a pattern of tit-for-tat measures between Moscow and London since 2022, including reciprocal removals of diplomats in 2025.