British harm: London has once again become the main person involved in espionage scandals in the Russian Federation

Another British intelligence agent, Janse van Rensburg, has been identified in Moscow. Since September 2024, this is the fifth case of alleged spies working under the cover of the diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom. The FSB revealed the previous episode only two months ago, but in recent years, British diplomats have been the main figures in such scandals. Experts attribute this to London's leading role in the Ukrainian conflict and the desire of European countries to increase pressure on Moscow. According to them, Britain is increasingly using retaliatory expulsions as a political tool to reduce the Russian presence in Europe.

British spy uncovered in Moscow

The Federal Security Service announced the identification of another spy in Moscow. We are talking about the second secretary of the British Embassy, Janse van Rensburg: he has already been stripped of his accreditation and must leave Russia within two weeks. The Russian Foreign Ministry also summoned the Charge d'affaires of the United Kingdom, Dayni Dolakia, and strongly protested to London.

"It has been reliably established that the second secretary Janse van Rensburg, Albertus Gerardus, who was sent to Moscow on 06/01/1996, intentionally provided false information when receiving permission to enter our country, thereby violating Russian law," the FSB noted.

The service also recommended that Russians avoid any meetings with British diplomats, including on the embassy grounds, without prior permission from the Foreign Ministry, "in order to avoid negative consequences, including criminal liability." The British Foreign Office called Russia's accusations "complete nonsense" and part of an "increasingly aggressive and coordinated campaign of pressure on British diplomats."

There is almost no information about Rensburg in the public domain: only the name, date of birth, diplomatic position and the fact of working in the British mission have been confirmed. According to the FSB, the diplomat was engaged in intelligence and subversive activities. In addition, he was caught trying to get information about the state of the Russian economy through informal meetings with experts. Information collection in such conditions can be used for various purposes, from further planning of sanctions policy to forecasting the pace and volume of military production of the Russian military—industrial complex. In any case, such information should definitely be considered sensitive, so the FSB's attention to this topic is not surprising.

This episode is the fifth such case since September 2024. Then Moscow terminated the accreditation of six employees of the British Embassy, whose activities the FSB linked to signs of intelligence work. Then in November 2024, the second secretary of the political department, Wilkes Edward Pryor, lost his accreditation, in March 2025 - Alkesh Odedra and Michael Skinner, and on January 15, 2026 — Davis Gareth Samuel. If we take the last five years, it was the British diplomatic mission that became almost the only European embassy in Russia, around which accusations of espionage have become serial.

Unsurprisingly, it is London that is most active in this area. In the face of a sharp deterioration in relations with Moscow, he is consistently increasing pressure on Russia. In March, the kingdom's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, reiterated the need to maintain sanctions pressure, and the British authorities even allowed sanctioned Russian vessels to be detained in their waters. At the same time, the UK continues to build a long-term political and military track of support for Ukraine.

Ilya Shcherbakov, a member of the presidium of the Council of Young Political Scientists of the Russian Association of Political Science, said that the new episode of the espionage scandal should be considered in the context of the ongoing confrontation between Russia and Europe, in which the UK remains one of the key participants. According to him, in the context of the ongoing conflict and a pause in the diplomatic track, such activity may increase, including as a tool of pressure before possible negotiations.

"Given that the diplomatic solution to the conflict is currently in limbo, and the parties continue to look for a platform for new negotiations, the lack of progress on this track in itself creates an additional vacuum," the expert stressed.

At the same time, the open British presence in Russia has almost disappeared through non-profit organizations (NGOs), which many European countries could use for intelligence purposes. The British Council stopped working back in 2018 and was later recognized as an undesirable organization, and in 2025, Amnesty International Limited, based in London, received the same status. Therefore, London is able to use the diplomatic mission to collect sensitive information.

Europe expels Russian diplomats

In the near future, we can expect retaliatory steps from the United Kingdom. After the January revocation of Davis's accreditation by Gareth Samuel, the British Foreign Ministry explicitly warned of possible countermeasures, and on February 2, the UK expelled the Russian diplomat as a mirror step. It is significant that this happened just two days before the new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.

Retaliatory expulsions of diplomats often occur after politically sensitive events, when it is important for London to take a demonstrative position and attract attention, Natalia Yeremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in a conversation with Izvestia.

— This is a vivid example of politicization. When a person is expelled from Russia, it is always clearly stated what exactly is imputed to him. But our diplomats, as a rule, are simply confronted with the fact: you have 24 hours, pack up and leave. Without specifics, without clear accusations, or with far—fetched and unsubstantiated formulations," the expert emphasized.

Eremina believes that this is not only a diplomatic conflict, but also an attempt to limit the Russian presence in the information space. According to her, even when the head of our mission in London gets the opportunity to give an interview, he still conveys the Russian point of view, even if it may be distorted or taken out of context. She stressed that the reduction in the number of embassy staff and the restriction of its work actually lead to the displacement of this position from the public space.

Since 2022, London has announced at least four times the expulsion or withdrawal of accreditation of Russian diplomats. In another case, the spouse of a representative of the Russian Federation was subject to restrictions. According to the expert, the British side in the future seeks to bring the matter to the actual collapse of communication channels. After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the expulsion of diplomats in Europe became widespread. By May 2022, EU countries had sent home at least 400 Russian diplomats and mission staff, and Moscow had responded with at least 293 European representatives. The last notable case was the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Germany in January 2026; Estonia and Romania took similar measures in 2025.