The travel bans came a day after Russia expelled a senior U.K. diplomat over espionage allegations and summoned the British ambassador to the foreign ministry.
Moscow’s “stop list” includes Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper and the chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister), Rachel Reeves, as well as a dozen ministers, including those of health, energy and justice.
In addition to politicians, a number of entrepreneurs were sanctioned and two journalists—the Daily Mail’s Dan Woodland and Tom Ball of The Times.
In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said the sanctions were in response to the “anti-Russian rhetoric” and “Russophobic policies” of the British government, as well as its support of Ukraine.
“The Russian foreign ministry is once again forced to draw attention to the incessant aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric of the British authorities, the illegitimate unilateral restrictions systematically introduced by London against our country, as well as the thoughtless policy of the leadership of this country to support the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, pursuing purely selfish geopolitical interests and leading to a senseless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict,” the statement read.
“Russophobic policies, which combine attempts to discredit Russia’s actions and isolate it in the international arena, the dissemination of disinformation about our country, including in the context of a special military operation, coupled with military support for the Ukrainian armed forces, bordering on the direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict with all the accompanying escalation risks, indicate London’s attitude towards further systemic confrontation with respect to Russia,” it continued.
The “stop list” is the latest development in an ongoing feud between the British and Russian governments, which on Tuesday saw a senior U.K. diplomat at the Moscow embassy expelled over accusations of spying and sabotage.
Downing Street has dismissed the allegations against Edward Pryor Wilkes as “baseless” and said it was considering its response.
“This is not the first time that Putin’s government has made malicious, baseless accusations against our staff,” the prime minister’s spokesman was quoted by The Independent as saying.
The latest expulsion came less than a week after Ukraine’s first use of British Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
