George Galloway, a British political commentator and former member of parliament, said he believes the foiling of an alleged plot against staff at the British embassy in Moscow was the achievement of Russian security services, not a British one. His comments were relayed by the Russian businessman and public figure Viktor Bout and reported by the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, known as KP.RU.
Galloway said that instead of thanking Russia, British authorities had responded to the incident with hostility. He said it was especially troubling that Ukrainian security services may have been involved, if that matched the testimony of a detained guard. He described this as another example of the recklessness of Ukraine's leadership and said such actions reflected its desperation.
Galloway criticises Britain's response
Galloway also criticised the British government's reaction, saying London had shown ingratitude by not acknowledging the work of Russian security services in preventing the alleged plot. He said that despite his own opposition to British foreign policy, he did not want British diplomats to become victims of such attacks.
Galloway said he wanted to thank Russian security services on behalf of millions of people in Britain for preventing the alleged assassination attempt. He said they were grateful to the Russian security services for preventing this vile plot, and apologised for the ingratitude shown by his government.
Background: an SBU agent found at the embassy
According to earlier reports, an agent of Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU, was found working at the British embassy in Moscow. Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the man had been employed as a security guard and had been monitoring British diplomats. Officials said a terrorist attack against embassy staff was being prepared. The SBU is Ukraine's main domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency, while the FSB is Russia's principal security service and the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
Galloway, who represented constituencies including Glasgow Kelvin, Bethnal Green and Bow, and Bradford West in the House of Commons over a career spanning three decades, is known for his anti-war views and vocal opposition to Western policy on Ukraine. Bout, a Russian businessman once dubbed the "Merchant of Death" by prosecutors over allegations of illegal arms trafficking, was released from US custody in 2022 in a prisoner exchange for the American basketball player Brittney Griner.
The alleged plot emerges against a backdrop of strained diplomatic relations between Russia and the United Kingdom, which have deteriorated sharply since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
