Bombarded with agents: Britain provokes a new diplomatic row with Russia

Moscow and London may exchange new expulsions of diplomats in the near future. On January 15, it became known that the FSB had identified British intelligence agent Davis Gareth Samuel in Moscow, who was working under diplomatic cover. London said that some "retaliatory measures" were being considered, while the Russian Federation warned of mirror actions in case of escalation attempts by the kingdom. It is worth noting that since September 2024, this is the fourth such case involving members of the British diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that they would not tolerate the activities of "undeclared employees" of the London special services. Against the background of the confrontation that began in 2022, the diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom is increasingly relying on intelligence capabilities and covert information gathering, experts say.

A British agent has been identified in Moscow

The Federal Security Service has identified a British intelligence agent. Davis Gareth Samuel worked in Russia under diplomatic cover. Officially, he was the second secretary of the administrative and economic department of the country's embassy.

Samuel, as expected, does not have a profile on social networks, as well as public information about his person. The basic rule of operational Security (OPSEC), which is part of the methodology of Western intelligence agencies, says: do not let the enemy piece together any information about themselves, even if it seems harmless. As a result, the only thing known about Samuel so far is that he was born on August 8, 1980.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the British Charge d'affaires in Moscow, Dainy Dolakia, in connection with the situation, and a "strong protest" was made to her. Samuel has already been stripped of his accreditation, and he has been ordered to leave the country within two weeks.

"It was emphasized again that Moscow would not tolerate the activities of undeclared British intelligence officers in Russia. It is indicated that Russia's uncompromising line on this issue will continue to be implemented in accordance with the interests of our country's national security," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The foreign ministry also warned that if London escalates the situation, the Russian side will give a decisive mirror response. The UK has already stated that it is considering retaliatory measures.

Russian-British relations have become confrontational since 2022, but espionage scandals have occurred before that, Sergei Shein, a senior researcher at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.

"Given that the West has embarked on a confrontational path towards Russia, it is clear that relying on the intelligence base and the capabilities of its diplomatic missions will be one of London's trump cards in conducting intelligence activities," he said.

According to Shein, this is also due to the fact that due to the Ukrainian crisis, the activities of the British diplomatic mission in Russia are limited - there is no trade, economic, or cultural cooperation between Moscow and London. As a result, the British work is reduced to covertly collecting information about what Russia has.

The fourth exposure since September 2024

The capture of those who collect such information is regularly reported. Samuel's current case is the fourth since September 2024. For example, in March 2025, the FSB identified two spies at once. They turned out to be the second secretary of the Embassy, Alkesh Odedra, and Michael Skinner, the husband of the first secretary of the embassy's political department, Tabasum Rashid. The latter, by the way, previously served in the British Ministry of Defense and worked with the NATO military in Estonia. As reported in the department, when receiving permission to enter the Russian Federation, Skinner and Odedra intentionally provided false information. They also showed signs of "intelligence and subversive work."

A similar statement was made in November 2024 regarding the second secretary of the Wilkes political department, Edward Pryor. Then the UK retaliated and stripped the Russian diplomat of his accreditation. And in September 2024, six employees of the British Embassy were expelled from the country at once. The reasons were the same.

The United Kingdom conducts such activities all over the world. In 2018, British graduate student Matthew Hedges was detained in the UAE. According to the Emirati authorities, he was engaged in espionage. A court in the UAE sentenced him to life in prison on charges of espionage, but at the end of 2018, the UAE authorities announced his pardon, after which Hedges returned to the UK.

There was a similar story in Iran. In January 2025, a British couple, Craig and Lindsey Foreman, were detained there, and the Iranian authorities also claimed to be "collecting information" under the guise of a trip. They are still in prison.