A MAN originally from Milford Haven has been expelled from Russia after being accused of espionage by the country’s security services — claims that have been strongly denied by both the British government and people who know him locally.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that a British Embassy employee in Moscow, 45-year-old Gareth Samuel Davies, had been operating as an undercover intelligence officer and ordered him to leave the country within two weeks.

Mr Davies is understood to have attended Milford Haven School and previously lived in Steynton, before pursuing a career in diplomacy.

Russian authorities said he was working under diplomatic cover as Second Secretary in the administrative section of the British Embassy in Moscow, and that his accreditation had been revoked under the 1961 Vienna Convention.

However, people in Pembrokeshire who know Mr Davies have disputed the espionage claim. According to those familiar with him and his work, he was not involved in spying, but was instead carrying out a legitimate embassy security and administrative role.

They say his responsibilities focused on internal security procedures, staff safety, and operational administration — duties that are standard within embassies worldwide and should not be confused with intelligence gathering. Those close to him locally describe the Russian allegations as a mischaracterisation of a routine diplomatic post.

It is understood that disruption to Mr Davies has been minimised, as his family had not yet joined him in Moscow as planned.

He is due to return to the UK in the coming days, it is understood.

The British government has dismissed the accusations as “baseless.” A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Moscow said: “This is not the first time the Kremlin has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff. Their targeting of British diplomats comes out of desperation.”

The spokesperson added that the UK is “carefully considering its options in response.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Britain’s chargé d’affaires to issue a formal protest and warned of a “decisive tit-for-tat response” should the UK escalate the situation.

Since 2024, Russia has expelled at least nine British diplomats on similar espionage allegations, all of which have been denied by London. No public evidence has been released to support the claims in this case.

Diplomatic expulsions of this kind are widely regarded as political acts rather than legal judgments, and have become increasingly common amid deteriorating relations between the UK and Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “This is not the first time the Kremlin has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff. Their targeting of British diplomats comes out of desperation and actions like this undermine the basic conditions required for diplomatic missions to operate.

“We are carefully considering our options in response.”