Russia expels 23 British diplomats in spy poisoning row

Russia said today it would expel 23 British diplomats and close a British consulate following London's "provocative" measures over the poisoning of a double agent that has triggered a fierce diplomatic row.

Moscow also said it would halt the activities of the British Council in Russia in a tough series of retaliatory measures announced after it summoned British ambassador Laurie Bristow.

Prime Minister Theresa May responded defiantly to the tit-for-tat move, which followed Britain's expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and the suspension of high-level contacts earlier this week.

Amid escalating tensions with Moscow over the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury on March 4 , May warned she would "never tolerate a threat to the life of British citizens and others on British soil from the Russian government," to strong applause from party members.

"Russian aggression is the very antithesis of the liberal and democratic values that define the United Kingdom," she said.

She also repeated accusations made by Britain to the United Nations that the poisoning was a "flagrant breach of international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention."
The Russian ministry also warned Britain that it "retains the right to take other answering measures" in response to any "further unfriendly actions."