Russia expels British defence attaché amid diplomatic row

Russia has expelled the British defence attaché in a tit-for-tat response after the UK kicked out Moscow’s counterpart and accused him of being a spy Captain Adrian Coghill (pictured), a Royal Naval officer based at the British Embassy in Moscow, has been given a week to leave the country, the Russian foreign ministry confirmed on its Telegram channel.

Britain last week announced several measures to target Moscow’s intelligence gathering operations in the UK, including the expulsion of Colonel Maxim Elovik (Pictured). The UK also rescinded the diplomatic status of several Russian-owned properties because they are believed to have been used for intelligence purposes and imposed new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits.

Britain’s Defence Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured) has now branded Thursday’s ousting of Capt Coghill as a ‘desperate move’ from Vladimir Putin whose Government has vowed ‘further retaliatory steps.’ ‘Russia’s expulsion of the UK’s defence attache (DA) is a desperate move,’ Mr Shapps said. ‘Whilst Russia’s DA in the UK was acting as a spy, Putin’s only issue with ours was that they personified the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of his illegal and barbaric invasion.’

The Kremlin’s move follows the expulsion on May 8 of Col Elovik, on the grounds that he was an ‘undeclared military intelligence officer’. In its Telegram post, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned an official from the British Embassy to protest over Col Elovik’s expulsion, which it described as ‘politically motivated’ and ‘Russophobic’. It added that this would not be the end of the matter, and ‘further retaliatory steps’ would be announced.

The UK has had an uneasy relationship with Russia for years, accusing its agents of targeted killings and espionage, including cyberattacks aimed at British lawmakers and leaking and amplifying sensitive information to serve Russian interests. After Russia sent troops into Ukraine, Britain sanctioned hundreds of wealthy Russians and moved to clamp down on money laundering through London’s property and financial markets.

As well as expelling Col Elovik last week, Home Secretary James Cleverly (pictured) also told the Commons he was revoking the diplomatic status of two Russian-owned properties in the UK that were believed to have been used for intelligence purposes, and placing new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas. The government said the measures followed criminal cases in London alleging espionage and sabotage by people acting on behalf of Russia. It cited allegations that the Russian government planned to sabotage military aid for Ukraine in Germany and Poland and carried out spying in Bulgaria and Italy, along with cyber and disinformation activities, air space violations and jamming GPS signals to hamper civilian air traffic.

Announcing the measures, Mr Cleverly predicted that they would be met with accusations of ‘Russophobia’, adding: ‘This is not new and the British people and the British Government will not fall for it, and will not be taken for fools by Putin’s bots, trolls and lackeys.’ The decision followed news that five men had been charged with offences under the National Security Act in connection with alleged espionage activities in the UK on behalf of Russia. Mr Cleverly last week insisted the Government and British public would not be misled by Russia’s spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories, and ‘will not be taken for fools by Putin’s bots, trolls and lackeys’.

Col Elovik – who has been in Britain for around a decade – met Britain’s Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, for talks in September 2022 to ‘strengthen military to military channels of communication’ with Moscow. A former assistant military attaché at Russia’s embassy in the US, he was allowed into the Ministry of Defence for meetings and was pictured at wreath-laying ceremonies commemorating Russian war dead last year. But Mr Cleverly told the Commons last week the colonel was in fact an ‘undeclared military intelligence officer’. The Home Office also moved to impose restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas, with a cap on how long the diplomats can stay in the country.

A series of Russian-owned buildings in the UK will be stripped of diplomatic status. Sources said the suspected spy bases will not formally close and diplomats may still live there, but they will no longer be able to enjoy special status as a working site of the Russian Embassy and the legal protections that affords them. One of the Russian intelligence hubs hit is Seacox Heath, a Grade II listed mansion in Hawkhurst, East Sussex, which has been owned by Moscow since 1946. The 83-acre estate, with tennis courts and a football pitch, was originally intended as a luxury retreat for diplomatic staff. In 1952 it was described in the Daily Mail as a ‘Russian country club’.

Dubbed ‘Putin’s Palace’ in the UK, little is now known about what goes on behind the gates of the 1871 mansion. Another key building to lose diplomatic status is the Russian Embassy’s trade and defence section in Highgate, north London, in a neighbourhood popular with Russian diplomats and oligarchs. The measures are calculated to severely dent the Kremlin’s ability to carry out intelligence operations in the UK. Russia’s foreign ministry last week said that Britain had used ‘outright lies’ to justify the measures. A spokesman added: ‘We have warned London that any unfriendly actions will receive a commensurate response.’

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