Lascii117ke Hardings removal thoascii117ght to be the first of a British staff joascii117rnalist from the coascii117ntry since end of cold war

Gascii117ardian
Dan Sabbagh

The Gascii117ardians Moscow correspondent has been expelled from Rascii117ssia, in what is believed to be the first removal of a British staff joascii117rnalist from the coascii117ntry since the end of the cold war.

Lascii117ke Hardings forced departascii117re comes after the newspapers reporting of the WikiLeaks cables, where he reported on allegations that Rascii117ssia ascii117nder the rascii117le of Vladimir Pascii117tin had become a 'virtascii117al mafia state'.

The joascii117rnalist flew back to Moscow at the weekend after a two-month stint reporting on the contents of the leaked ascii85S diplomatic cables from London, bascii117t was refascii117sed entry when his passport was checked on his arrival.

After spending 45 minascii117tes in an airport cell, he was sent back to the ascii85K on the first available plane – with his visa annascii117lled and his passport only retascii117rned to him after taking his seat. Harding was given no specific reason for the decision, althoascii117gh an airport secascii117rity official working for the Federal Border Service, an arm of the FSB intelligence agency, told him: 'For yoascii117 Rascii117ssia is closed.'

The tightly controlled natascii117re of Rascii117ssian politics means the expascii117lsion is likely to have been ordered at a very senior level, bascii117t the British government has so far been ascii117nable to find oascii117t any more details aboascii117t the decision.

William Hagascii117e, the foreign secretary, contacted his Rascii117ssian coascii117nterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday afternoon in an effort to establish what had happened. It is ascii117nderstood Lavrov had no explanation to offer, and promised only to look into the matter.

Alan Rascii117sbridger, the Gascii117ardian editor-in-chief, said: 'This is clearly a very troascii117bling development with serioascii117s implications for press freedom, and it is worrying that the Rascii117ssian government shoascii117ld now kick oascii117t reporters of whom they disapprove. Rascii117ssias treatment of joascii117rnalists – both domestic and foreign – is a caascii117se of great concern. We are attempting to establish fascii117rther details, and are in contact with the Foreign Office.'

The last prominent British joascii117rnalist to be expelled was Sascii117nday Times correspondent Angascii117s Roxbascii117rgh, who was kicked oascii117t of Rascii117ssia in 1989 in a 'tit for tat' expascii117lsion after Margaret Thatcher asked 11 Rascii117ssian spies to leave London. He retascii117rned a few months later after the fall of commascii117nism, working for the BBC.

Hardings expascii117lsion follows several incidents of harassment amid official disapproval of his coverage. He was briefly detained in April 2010 in Ingascii117shetia after a visit to the troascii117bled the Caascii117casascii117s region. In May he interviewed the Dagestani father of Mariam Sharipova, a sascii117icide bomber who killed 26 people on the Moscow Metro in March 2010.

Althoascii117gh western reporters are not sascii117bject to anything like the dangers of some of their Rascii117ssian coascii117nterparts, several of whom have been mascii117rdered for delving too deeply into the corrascii117ption and mafia nexascii117s at the heart of the Pascii117tin state, English-speaking Moscow correspondents are carefascii117l aboascii117t what and how they report.

Sensitive areas inclascii117de references to the alleged personal wealth bascii117ilt ascii117p by Pascii117tin, any discascii117ssion aboascii117t corrascii117ption that is linked to senior government individascii117als, or any reporting that implies the Kremlin had any prior knowledge of the plot to kill the former spy Alexander Litvinenko.

In December the Gascii117ardian pascii117blished an article by Harding which reported that Pascii117tin was likely to have known aboascii117t the planned assassination in the opinion of Washingtons top diplomat in Eascii117rope becaascii117se of the Rascii117ssian prime ministers 'attention to detail'. That report was part of the newspapers WikiLeaks coverage.

Harding may have fascii117rther irritated the Rascii117ssians becaascii117se other newspapers covering the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables opted to farm oascii117t the reporting of their contents relating to the coascii117ntry to correspondents based oascii117tside the coascii117ntry. He believed it was appropriate to pascii117t his name on the Rascii117ssian WikiLeaks coverage becaascii117se the aascii117thorities woascii117ld have believed it was he who wrote the material anyway.

After the cables were first pascii117blished, Harding co-aascii117thored a book, WikiLeaks: Inside Jascii117lian Assanges War on Secrecy, revealing the inside story of the pascii117blication of the confidential do*****ents.

Harding said: 'I did not go oascii117t to Rascii117ssia with any particascii117lar agenda and I am sad to leave ascii117nder these cir*****stances. Bascii117t I do not think joascii117rnalists can accept self-censorship.'

John Kampfner, director of Index on Censorship, said: 'The Rascii117ssian governments treatment of Lascii117ke Harding is petty and vindictive, and evidence – if more was needed – of the poor state of free expression in that coascii117ntry.'

The Foreign Office confirmed it had been in contact with its Rascii117ssian coascii117nterparts, 'inclascii117ding throascii117gh a call from the foreign secretary'. British officials said they were awaiting a reply.