This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7191411.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| 'Deep concern' for Council staff | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The British Council has said it is "deeply concerned" for the safety of its staff in Russia, after they were questioned by the FSB security service. | The British Council has said it is "deeply concerned" for the safety of its staff in Russia, after they were questioned by the FSB security service. |
| A spokesman said Russian national staff in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg were summoned for FSB interviews and visited at home late on Tuesday night. | |
| Meanwhile St Petersburg office director Stephen Kinnock was followed, stopped and released by authorities on Tuesday. | Meanwhile St Petersburg office director Stephen Kinnock was followed, stopped and released by authorities on Tuesday. |
| "We are deeply concerned by both these incidents," the spokesman added. | |
| The British Council has been at the centre of a row between Russia and the UK, part of an ongoing dispute over the death of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned in London. | The British Council has been at the centre of a row between Russia and the UK, part of an ongoing dispute over the death of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned in London. |
| Summoned for interview | |
| Russian authorities have ordered British Council offices outside Moscow be closed - Britain has refused. | Russian authorities have ordered British Council offices outside Moscow be closed - Britain has refused. |
| Mr Kinnock - son of former Labour leader Neil - was held by the side of the road on Tuesday night and accused of going up a one-way street the wrong way and of smelling of alcohol. The British Consul in St Petersburg came to pick him up an hour later. | |
| Any attempt to intimidate staff is completely unacceptable Foreign Office spokesman | |
| A British Council spokesman said: "We can confirm that director [in] St Petersburg was followed, stopped and subsequently released an hour later by Russian authorities." | |
| He added that Russian staff in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg were "summoned for interview by the FSB at their headquarters and subsequently visited in their homes late last night by officials of the Russian Ministry of the Interior". | |
| They have been called to more interviews on Wednesday, she said. | |
| Litvinenko row | |
| "Our main concern is the safety and security of both our Russian and UK staff and we are deeply concerned by both these incidents," he added. | |
| A spokesman for the Foreign Office said they were investigating what had happened, adding: "We have made clear that the British Council operates legally in Russia according to the relevant conventions and agreements, to the benefit of thousands of Russian citizens. | |
| "Any attempt to intimidate staff is completely unacceptable. The welfare of British Council staff , both Russian and British, is our main priority." | |
| The British Council, which aims to promote cultural and educational ties, has been accused of violating Russian tax rules. | |
| The row comes on top of ongoing tensions over the death of former KGB officer Mr Litvinenko in London in November 2006. He had been given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium 210. | |
| The UK wants Russia to hand over businessman Andrei Lugovoi, whom UK investigators suspect of murdering Mr Litvinenko. | |
| When Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoi, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats and Moscow followed suit. | |
| Russian officials have described the action against the British Council as a retaliatory measure. |