Russian Diplomats Joining Excursion Kicked Out Of British Parliament

The incident occurred on Christmas Eve.

Russian diplomats have entered the closed area of the UK Parliament, pretending to be participants of the excursion, writes the Guardian.

According to the newspaper, the incident occurred on the eve of Christmas, which is celebrated in the kingdom on 25 December. Several Russian diplomats came for a public tour around the Houses of Parliament in London and at some point separated from the general group, entering the House of Lords room, which is closed to the public, from where they were kicked out by security guards.

‘We suspect they just wanted to brag to the Kremlin that they had sneaked into the British parliament. The situation is not ideal, but they were caught before any damage was done,’ the source said. He said the incident had alarmed government ministers and security officials, and MPs and peers had been warned in writing not to invite Russian diplomats to parliament, even privately. It is not clear whether the Russians were called on the tour by any of the British politicians or whether they ended up on it under the scheme provided for ordinary tourists.

Russian diplomats and embassy staff in London, including the ambassador himself, were banned from visiting the kingdom's parliament in 2022 because of the invasion of Ukraine. In autumn 2023, the country imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats in response to similar actions by Moscow. In the same year, the Russian Foreign Ministry obliged employees of British diplomatic missions to report in advance on trips outside the 120-kilometre zone, specifying the timing, purpose, route and type of transport used. The ministry explained the decision as ‘hostile actions by London, including those that hinder the normal functioning of Russian diplomatic missions in the UK,’ without giving details.

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