British Saint Petersburg consulate closes: reports

The British consulate in Saint Petersburg has closed its doors, the British ambassador to Russia said today, as part of the diplomatic fall out in the wake of the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.

Ambassador Laurie Bristow was cited by Russian news agencies as saying that the closure was linked to worsening relations following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in the British city of Salisbury in March.

London accused Moscow of being behind the attack on Skripal, a former double agent, and his daughter Yulia with Soviet-developed nerve agent Novichok.

Moscow has denied the accusations, and in response to the expulsion of a number of Russian diplomats from Britain it ordered 23 British diplomats to leave the country and the closure of the consulate and British Council office in Saint Petersburg.

The poisoning led to major wave of expulsions by Russia and Western nations, with about 300 diplomats affected.