Russian diplomats kicked out over spy poisoning leave the UK
A state-owned plane flies out of Stansted as the "undeclared intelligence officers" are expelled over the spy poisoning case.
Tuesday 20 March 2018 21:45, UK
Twenty-three Russian diplomats the Government said were working as spies have flown home after being ordered to leave as punishment for the Salisbury spy poisoning.
The Russians and their families were waved off by staff outside the London embassy – some were seen wiping away tears.
Children, bags and pet baskets were loaded into cars, people carriers and three small coaches.
A Russian government plane later took off from Stansted for Moscow just after 4pm and landed at about 10.15pm local time.
The country's ambassador, Alexander Yakovenko, hosted a farewell reception for the group at the embassy on Monday evening.
The "undeclared intelligence officers" were kicked out in response for the novichok nerve agent attack on 4 March that has left former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia critical in hospital.
The UK Government believes the Russian state ordered the attack - a claim it strenuously denies.
As the Russian group prepared to fly out, Theresa May decided there would be no further measures to punish the attack – for now.
The Prime Minister chaired a National Security Council meeting, with her spokesman saying other measures were still being considered and could be deployed at “any time”.
The spokesman confirmed that in the meantime stricter checks at borders had been established on people who threaten the security of the UK and its allies - on both commercial and private flights.
He added that the Government was continuing to press ahead with tougher anti-money laundering legislation, such as asset freezes.
And despite the US backing the UK assessment that Russia was to blame, the White House has confirmed that President Trump did not raise the matter when he called President Putin to congratulate him over his election win.
"The focus was to talk about areas of shared interest,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
European Union boss Jean-Claude Juncker has also been criticised after sending a "nauseating" letter of congratulations to President Putin that failed to mention the Salisbury poisoning.
Moscow’s foreign ministry continues to battle accusations that the Russsian state was behind the attack.
It has invited all foreign ambassadors to a meeting on Wednesday to hear its views on the Skripal case.
Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it would be a chance for "Russia's view to be expressed to official representatives of foreign states."
In a tit-for-tat move, Russia has said it will also expel 23 British diplomats from Moscow as well as closing down British Council activities.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire for demanding Russia receive a sample of the Salisbury poison so it can "say categorically" if it was behind the attack.
Mr Corbyn also said he would still do business with Russia if his party was in power, despite "all fingers" pointing towards Moscow.
He told BBC Radio 4: "Would I do business with Putin? Sure. And I'd challenge him on human rights in Russia, challenge him on these issues and challenge him on that whole basis of that relationship."
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has sent experts to Britain to get a sample of the nerve agent used.
Its boss, Ahmet Uzumcu, has said it will take about another three weeks to analyse and confirm its origin.