A Russian diplomat has had their accreditation revoked by the UK in a tit-for-tat move after Moscow expelled a British official last year.
Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office to be informed of the move by the Government.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We have summoned the Russian ambassador for a meeting with a senior British official to revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat.
“This is in response to Russia’s unprovoked and baseless decision to strip the accreditation of a British diplomat in Moscow in November.
“The UK will not stand for intimidation of our staff in this way and so we are taking reciprocal action.
“Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly.”