Theresa May expels 23 Russian diplomats from UK

Theresa May has ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, described as "undeclared intelligence officers", from the UK in response to the nerve agent attack in Salisbury earlier this month.

The Prime Minister announced the response in a statement to the Commons after Moscow officials refused to explain how the nerve agent, thought to have been developed in Russia, came to be released in the UK.

May also cancelled an invitation for Russia's foreign minister to visit the UK and confirmed the Royal Family would not attend the football World Cup in Russia later this year.

Former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal are in a critical condition after being exposed to a nerve agent on 4 March, with the UK foreign office then demanding answers from Russia over how the incident took place.

With the 23 diplomats given a week to leave the country, the decision is the biggest expulsion of foreign diplomats from the UK in 30 years.

The PM outlined plans to freeze Russian state assets where there is evidence they may be used to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents.

She also announced proposals to introduce new powers to protect the UK from hostile state activity and an end to high level contacts with Russian figures.

May said: “Their [Moscow's'] response has demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events.

“They have provided no credible explanation that could suggest they lost control of their nerve agent, no explanation as to how this agent came to be used in the UK, [and] no explanation as to why Russia has an undeclared chemical weapons programme in contravention of international law.

"Instead they have treated the use of a military nerve agent in Europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance.

"So there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter."

Other measures she announced included more checks on Russians coming into the UK and the addition of Magnitsky-type amendments to a bill on sanctions.

But Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko said the measures were "absolutely unacceptable".

Speaking after being summoned to the Foreign Office by the UK Government, he said: "We believe this is [a] very serious provocation."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "Moscow won't accept absolutely unfounded accusations against it, which are not substantiated by any evidence, and won't accept the language of ultimatum."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for “strong diplomacy and political pressure” as part of an international effort to “secure a world free of chemical weapons”.

Responding to the Prime Minister in the Commons, he questioned cuts to the diplomatic service and demanded to know if Russian requests for a sample of the nerve agent had been met.

Corbyn described the attack in Salisbury as a “dreadful, appalling act” while urging the PM to work with international partners in coordinating the UK response.