British diplomat branded a spy by Russia as London-Moscow relations hit new low

Relations between London and Moscow hit a new low yesterday after Russia named a British diplomat as a spy.

Intelligence sources in Moscow claimed that the man, who is employed at the British Embassy in a job promoting trade, was a senior secret service agent.

They 'unmasked' him in retaliation for what they saw as Britain's provocative and bungling actions ahead of Gordon Brown's meeting with new Kremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev three days ago at the G8 summit.

This included a British intelligence source claiming that the FSB – formerly known as the KGB – was involved in the London murder of Russian emigré Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned by polonium-210 and a bid to murder billionaire Boris Berezovsky, an arch-enemy of ex-president Vladimir Putin.

Russian security officials said the official, named as Christopher Bower, director of UK trade and investment at the British embassy, was a senior British intelligence officer.

Mr Bower worked as a reporter for the BBC before joining the UK Foreign Office in the 1990s.

The Russians claimed he used his diplomatic cover to maintain contact with Russian MPs, radical opposition members and human rights groups in the Caucasus region.

Mr Bower is known as an active advocate of British investment in Russia.

From 1992 soon after the USSR broke up, Mr Bower worked for the BBC World Service in Tashkent covering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizstan and Tajikistan. He also acted as a stringer for the Guardian newspaper.

Russian reports yesterday implied he was an intelligence agent at the time saying "he worked under the roof" of the BBC.

An Interfax news agency report stated that 'the Russian special services have questions about the work of an employee of the British embassy in Moscow, who is presumably a senior British intelligence officer.'

He was said to use his diplomatic cover to maintain contact with Russian MPs, radical opposition members and human rights groups in the Caucasus region.

The man's remit has included advocating British investment in Russia, something he has strongly encouraged UK firms to do.

His case echoes the naming of four British diplomats as spies in 2006 after being accused of hiding a transmitter in a fake rock in a Moscow park to pass confidential information.

They were not expelled by Russia, but withdrawn a few months later. A similar outcome is likely in this latest case.

Another motive may be Moscow's anger that Alexander Polyakov, a Russian diplomat in London, had been named as a suspected spy targeting Labour MP Andrew MacKinley.

Some Russian sources say the naming of the British diplomat as a 'symmetric' response to the naming of Polyakov.

Moscow indicated that it had been ready to use the Medvedev-Brown talks to improve relations which have been in the freezer since the Litvinenko murder but this was thwarted by the Prime Minister seeking to show himself as being 'tough' with the Kremlin.

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Moscow would only say: 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on intelligence allegations.'

Downing Street refused to comment on the allegations.