A Russian diplomat has been expelled from the UK in the latest escalation of a tit-for-tat spat after Moscow threw out a British official last year.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said action had been taken “following Russia’s recent expulsion of a British diplomat” in November.

Moscow accused the diplomat of giving false information and spying as grounds for asking him to leave.

The government said the UK “will not stand for intimidation of our staff in this way” and that “any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly”.

Russia’s ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin, who has been in post since 2019, was summoned to the Foreign Office to be informed one of his diplomats was having their accredidation revoked.

“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests,” Lammy said.

“My message to Russia is clear – if you take action against us, we will respond.”

The Kremlin has yet to comment publicly on the expulsion.

An accreditation is a recognition by a government of a diplomat’s status, and gives them certain immunities depending on rank.

Moscow revoked the British diplomat’s accreditation in November, accusing them of spying and ordering the individual to leave the country within two weeks.

Russian state-run news agencies reported that the country’s security service FSB had accused the diplomat of providing false information on his documents and carrying out espionage activities.

His photo and name was also shared on Russian TV bulletins.

At the time, the Foreign Office dismissed Russia’s accusations as “baseless” and said it was considering a response.

Russia has previous said it planned to take further action should the UK respond to its own expulsion.

Diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia have worsened since the latter’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Expulsions of diplomats have become increasingly common since the war began.

In September last year, Russia announced that the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow had been revoked, requiring them to leave the country.