UK denounces Russian spy charge

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain has said it is "wholly unacceptable" for Russian authorities to have accused one of its diplomats of spying.

The accusation seems set to hit already strained Russian-British relations amid the battle for control at the TNK-BP oil company, which is jointly owned by the British oil giant and Russian billionaires.

Russia's Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source Thursday in reporting that Christopher Bowers, the acting director of UK Trade and Investment, was a British intelligence agent working under diplomatic cover.

"It's wholly unacceptable to make such allegations against any named individuals and by definition we are not going to comment on the truth of them," said a UK Foreign Office spokeswoman, who declined to be named.

The spokeswoman declined to discuss the matter further but confirmed that Bowers heads UKTI, which works with British companies overseas and encourages international investment in Britain.

Russia's Federal Security Service and Foreign Ministry both refused to comment Friday.

The accusation is another in a series of diplomatic disputes between the two countries in the wake of the November 2006 death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.

After British authorities accused Russia of involvement in his poisoning, the two countries expelled each other's diplomats, and Russia threatened to pull a major exhibition of Russian art from London.

The British Council was caught up in the dispute in January when it accused Russian authorities of a "campaign of intimidation" for briefly detaining the head of its St. Petersburg office and summoning local staff for interviews.

In March, Russian authorities charged two brothers who have dual Russian-U.S. citizenship with industrial espionage, accusing them of illegally gathering information for foreign oil and gas companies.

The new espionage accusation follows a BBC report on Monday suggesting the Russian government's involvement in the killing of Litvinenko.

An unnamed source in the Russian special services said British accusations of Russian involvement in Litvinenko's death were groundless and provocative, according to Thursday's Interfax report.

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

All About Russia • United Kingdom