Britain says it has expelled a diplomat from Russia's embassy in London for espionage, and Russia has responded in kind.

Britain said it requested the expulsion of the Russian diplomat on December 10th after clear evidence of Russian intelligence service activities against British interests.

Russia requested the removal of the British diplomat on December 16th. These are the first such expulsions since 2007, when a row broke out over the killing in London of a Kremlin critic.

Russia refuses to extradite a lawmaker Britain wants to try for the killing. The latest spat undermines efforts by Britain's new coalition government to forge a better relationship with Russia.

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