Russia Threatens Britain Over Diplomats' Expulsion

Russia threatened Britain with "serious consequences" last night after David Miliband, the foreign secretary, revived memories of the Cold War by announcing that four Russian diplomats were to be expelled from London.

The decision showed how Anglo-Russian relations have sunk to their lowest ebb since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. Mr. Miliband said Britain had no choice but to send a "clear and proportionate signal" to Moscow following President Putin's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, the former KGB agent.

Mr. Miliband is the first foreign secretary to remove any Russian diplomats for 11 years.

The prospect of a tit-for-tat round of expulsions is a throwback to the era of Cold War tensions when each country saw the other as a rival.

A Scotland Yard investigation concluded that Mr. Lugovoi should stand trial for allegedly murdering Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-KGB spy and naturalized British citizen, in London last year. Mr. Miliband said a "significant body of evidence" implicated Mr. Lugovoi in the "horrifying and lingering death" of Litvinenko from radiation poisoning.

In a statement to the House of Commons, the foreign secretary said Britain had to show Russia the "consequences" of failing to hand over Mr. Lugovoi.