Britain’s Foreign Office has criticized Russian authorities for what it suggested was a Kremlin-orchestrated media stunt designed to intimidate London’s deputy ambassador at a Moscow airport.
Tom Dodd, who has been stationed in Moscow since 2022, was mobbed by apparent demonstrators and journalists on Tuesday after landing at the Russian capital’s Vnukovo airport.
Video footage of his reaction, described by Russian media as “aggressive,” was widely publicized along with accusations that he “assaulted” the group.
The video shows a visibly agitated Dodd pushing his way through a hostile crowd, tearing up one of its member’s banners and removing a press pass from another, U.K. daily The Telegraph reported.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told the paper that the incident “matches a persistent pattern of shameful behavior by the Kremlin against UK diplomats in Russia.”
“Intimidation will not deter our staff from promoting international stability and U.K. interests around the world,” the Foreign Office said.
The events took place amid a dispute that saw Moscow revoke the accreditation of six British diplomats in September on accusations of spying.
That move followed the U.K. withdrawing diplomatic status from several buildings in May and expelling the Russian defense attaché.
London and Moscow have also clashed over the potential use by Ukraine of British long-range Storm Shadow missiles to strike deep within Russian territory.
Video footage of his reaction, described by Russian media as “aggressive,” was widely publicized along with accusations that he “assaulted” the group.
The video shows a visibly agitated Dodd pushing his way through a hostile crowd, tearing up one of its member’s banners and removing a press pass from another, U.K. daily The Telegraph reported.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told the paper that the incident “matches a persistent pattern of shameful behavior by the Kremlin against UK diplomats in Russia.”
“Intimidation will not deter our staff from promoting international stability and U.K. interests around the world,” the Foreign Office said.
Diplomatic dispute
The events took place amid a dispute that saw Moscow revoke the accreditation of six British diplomats in September on accusations of spying.
That move followed the U.K. withdrawing diplomatic status from several buildings in May and expelling the Russian defense attaché.
London and Moscow have also clashed over the potential use by Ukraine of British long-range Storm Shadow missiles to strike deep within Russian territory.
