Moscow expels UK diplomat for spying

RT.com
30 Mar 2026, 15:10 GMT+10

The second secretary of the British Embassy has been given two weeks to leave the country, the FSB has said

A British diplomat in Moscow has been stripped of his accreditation and ordered to leave the country after conducting "intelligence and subversive activities" under the cover of his embassy post, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced.

The officer, identified as Albertus Gerardus Janse van Rensburg, served as second secretary at the UK embassy in Moscow. According to an FSB statement released on Monday, the diplomat deliberately provided false information when applying for entry permission, thereby violating Russian law.

The FSB also said it had "recorded attempts to obtain sensitive information during informal meetings with Russian experts in the field of economics." The agency concluded that van Rensburg was engaged in activities "threatening the security of the Russian Federation."

The diplomat has been given two weeks to leave the country.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the UK's charge d'affaires, Danae Dholakia, to officially lodge a protest. In a brief appearance outside the ministry building, Dholakia was seen arriving with van Rensburg before entering without commenting to journalists.

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