UK Russian Defense: The home secretary warned on Wednesday that Russia’s defense attaché is a “undeclared military intelligence officer” who will be removed from the UK when sanctions are tightened.
James Cleverly informed MPs that the shutdown of many Russian diplomatic locations in the Commons was part of a pattern of “malign activity” occurring around Europe and Britain.
As per Reuters, the declaration followed senior Conservative calls for more penalties on Putin’s associates and supporters, claiming that current measures were ineffective in impeding the Russian economy or the actions of its operatives.
A British man was accused in April of unfriendly state activities aimed at Russia’s advantage, including reportedly organizing others to carry out an arson assault on a London business building connected to Ukraine.
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informed the Commons deftly: “Today, I am announcing a package of measures in conjunction with the foreign secretary to make clear to Russia that we will not tolerate such apparent escalations.”
“I can inform the house that the Russian defence attaché, a military intelligence officer without a job, will be dismissed. Several Russian-owned sites in the UK, including Seacox Heath House in Sussex and the Trade and Defence division in Highgate, may lose their diplomatic premises designation because we suspect they have been used for intelligence gathering.
“We are imposing new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas, including capping the length of time Russian diplomats can spend in the UK.”
James Cleverly predicted that Moscow will respond by spreading conspiracy theories and accusing people of being Russophobic. “In the coming days we should expect accusations of Russophobia, conspiracy theories and hysteria from the Russian government. 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 shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, declared that Labour would continue to back Ukraine and backed the sanctions on Russia.
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“The security of Europe faces a generational threat from Russia under Putin, which calls for a long-term response. As the shadow defense secretary stated yesterday, the UK’s defense begins in Ukraine.”
The home secretary stated, “These challenges also affect our homeland security, which is why we fully support the measures she has laid out today. Just as we worked with the government on a bipartisan basis to pass the National Security Act, we will work closely with them in going further.”
In February, the Russian government imposed penalties on six individuals who were allegedly in charge of the “brutal prison camp” where opposition politician Alexei Navalny of Russia perished.
