Russia Expels UK Diplomat Over Alleged False Pretense Entry

Tensions between Russia and the United Kingdom escalated this week as Russia revoked the accreditation of a UK diplomat, accusing him of operating under false pretenses.

Wilkes Edward Pryor, the Second Secretary of the Political Department at the UK Embassy in Moscow, has been ordered to leave the country within two weeks.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed Pryor provided false information to obtain entry into Russia, violating local laws. According to the FSB, he was sent to Moscow as part of the UK’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate, allegedly to replace one of six British intelligence officers expelled from Russia in August 2024.

“It has been conclusively ascertained that the Second Secretary of the Political Department of the UK Embassy in Moscow, Wilkes Edward Pryor ... deliberately provided false information when obtaining a permit to enter our country, thereby violating Russian law,” the FSB stated in its press release published on Tuesday.

This move follows a broader pattern of diplomatic expulsions between the two nations. Earlier this year, Russia revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats, accusing them of espionage. The UK Foreign Office dismissed these allegations as “completely baseless.”

The FSB alleges the UK maintains an undeclared intelligence presence in Russia, using diplomatic posts as cover. 

“The Russian Federal Security Service will continue work to counter intelligence and sabotage activities of foreign intelligence services by all available methods,” the agency declared.

The FSB also pointed to evidence of British coordination to escalate international tensions. It accused the UK’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate of engaging in “subversive activities” against Russia, particularly following its transformation into a specialized service under the European External Action Service (EEAS).

Documents reportedly provided by the FSB suggest the UK is pursuing a strategy aimed at weakening Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These claims have yet to be independently verified.

British Ambassador Nigel Casey was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry for a formal explanation. He declined to comment to journalists gathered outside the ministry’s building in Moscow.

The UK has remained firm in denying allegations of espionage, but expulsions and accusations have strained diplomatic ties further. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions between Russia and Western nations have grown increasingly common.