West unites to send Russia a message over spy poisoning
● Mass expulsion is largest in history ● Russia warns it will strike back
Western allies have targeted Russia with the biggest co-ordinated expulsion of diplomats in history in a joint response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
Prime Minister Theresa May hailed the action as a message to president Vladimir Putin’s government that the West would “not tolerate Russia’s continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values”.
In total, 18 countries announced they are expelling a total of more than 100 Russian intelligence officers. Those participating include the United States, Canada and Ukraine as well as 15 EU member states.
The Russian foreign ministry said: “This provocative gesture of notorious solidarity with London, made by countries that preferred to follow in London’s footsteps without bothering to look into other circumstances of the incident, merely continues the policy of escalating the confrontation”.
Updating MPS in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister said: “President Putin’s regime is carrying out acts of aggression against our shared values and interests within our continent and beyond. As a sovereign European democracy, the United Kingdom will stand shoulder to shoulder with the EU and with Nato to face down these threats together.”
She added: “This is the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history.
“Together we have sent a message that we will not tolerate Russia’s continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values.”
Warning of an “unacceptably high” number of Russian spies in the US, the Trump administration said 60 diplomats would be expelled – all understood to be Russian intelligence agents working under diplomatic cover.
The group includes a dozen posted to Russia’s mission to the United Nations who were engaged in “aggressive collection” of intelligence on American soil, officials said. A Russian consulate in Seattle has also been ordered to close.
The expulsions come after Britain expelled 23 undeclared intelligence officers – prompting the tit-for-tat expulsion by the Russians of the same number of UK diplomats.
More EU member states are likely to
follow, with Germany, Poland and France each announcing they would remove four, the Czech Republic three and Italy two. Ukraine, a non-eu country with its own conflicts with Moscow, is expelling 13 Russians, president Petro Poroshenko said. All three Baltic states said they would kick diplomats out. Canada, too, said it was taking action, expelling four and denying three who have applied to enter the country.
Almost all of the countries said publicly that the Russian diplomats they were expelling were actually spies.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We welcome today’s actions by our allies, which clearly demonstrate that we all stand shoulder to shoulder in sending the strongest signal to Russia that it cannot continue to flout international law.”
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, visiting Estonia, also welcomed the expulsions.
“I think that is the very best response that we can have because their intention, their aim, is to divide and what we are seeing is the world uniting behind the British stance,” he said. “That in itself is a great victory and that sends an exceptionally powerful message to the Kremlin and President Putin.”
Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen tweeted: “Russia has gone too far. An assassination attempt in a European city with a Russian nerve agent is completely unacceptable.”
A German foreign ministry statement said the expulsions were “a strong signal of solidarity with Great Britain and signals the resolve of the Germany government not to leave attacks against our closest partners and allies unanswered”.
Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, remain in a critical condition in hospital after they were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury on 4 March.
The move is one of the most significant actions Donald Trump’s administration has taken to date to punish Moscow and Russian president Vladimir Putin, especially over its intelligence activities.
The last time they spoke, less than a week ago, Mr Trump congratulated Mr Putin for his re-election but did not raise the 4 March spy poisoning.
US ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said yesterday: “This is the largest expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in United States history.”
The expulsions led to a chorus of condemnation for the Kremlin – for the poisoning, Russian spying and other western grievances.
Poland’s foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz called it “the right response to the unfriendly, aggressive actions of Russia”.
In the Czech Republic, where Russian officials have claimed the poison used in Salisbury may have originated, prime minister Andrej Babis dismissed that allegation as “an utter lie”.
Russia’s embassy in Washington DC responded to the decisions on Twitter by hinting at retaliation, asking its followers to vote on which US consulate should be closed.
US ambassador Nikki Haley, Mr Trump’s envoy to the UN, said: “The United States and many of our friends are sending a clear message that we will not stand for Russia’s misconduct.”
“That sends an exceptionally powerful message to the Kremlin and President Putin”
GAVIN WILLIAMSON
Acouple of weeks ago we had to say goodbye to what had become almost a member of the family. The parting was hard, and we felt sad that something that had been with us through thick and thin over the past couple of decades would likely end up buried underground in some unmarked spot. So we sent it to be recycled.
Before you get the wrong idea. The dearly departed wasn’t a beloved pet, but rather a very unremarkable T-shirt that proved itself to be almost indestructible, despite enduring weekly wear by my other half for 22 years.
In today’s throwaway society, the idea anyone would wear an old T-shirt until it literally fell off their back seems quite eccentric or points to a serious lapse in sartorial awareness – I’ll let you judge, but I have to admit the Big Man actually has a couple of even older ones, which he’s hoping to fit back into soon. But in previous generations this was the norm because things were built to last and were expected to be fixed when they broke down or tore. My sister-in-law still has a 1950s hoover that was handed down from a relative, and my own late granny’s fridge dated from the 1960s.
Nowadays some people replace their washing machine every two or three years, and their phone every 12 months. It seems like no sooner have you shelled out for a new computer or games console than it has already become obsolete, the tech equivalent of a dinosaur. Part of the problem is that most goods have become cheaper but repairing them has become more expensive in relation to the cost of replacement.
It’s difficult to resist upgrading your kit when there are promises of more mod cons, increased efficiency and cost savings from the new stuff. But to reduce our impact on the planet we need to take a longer-term view and get back to a “make do and mend” mentality.
There is already a movement towards this, with outfits such as the Edinburgh Remakery – a community repair hub and second-hand shop set up by a social enterprise group. But it needs to gain more traction.
It’s fair to say most of us would struggle to build a new smartphone from spare parts, as one man did as an experiment. But there are plenty of other things we can do.
Let’s start with our wardrobes. The fashion industry is a major culprit when it comes to environmental damage – it is now the world’s second most polluting industry. Over the past ten years, clothing has been the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, driven by the rising popularity of cheap and cheerful garments that can be worn today and thrown out tomorrow.
Even without considering the carbon footprint and ethical issues that come along with “fast fashion”, disposal of clothing needs to be addressed.
Only a quarter of the garments we throw away are currently being recycled, while around 300,000 tonnes goes to landfill each year. So when spring cleaning your drawers make sure to send unwanted garments to a local charity shop or stick it in a textile recycling skip.
And you can be just like Big Man – except stylish – with your own semi-immortal threads. Designer Tom Cridland offers a whole range guaranteed to last 30 years – even a Christmas jumper, though that might actually last for ever.
Or maybe try Half Century Jeans, made from a special denim fabric containing fibres that are 15 times stronger than cable steel.
I’ll certainly take a pair if they also come with a guarantee that I will remain able to squeeze into them for their 50-year lifespan.