UK warns Russia

LONDON: Britain warned Russia on Friday against playing "diplomatic chess games" after Paul Whelan, an ex-Marine with triple UK, US and Irish citizenship, was charged with espionage.

"We don’t agree with individuals being used in diplomatic chess games... We are all extremely worried about him and his family," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC in an interview.

"We need to see what these charges are against him," Hunt said, adding that Britain had offered consular access to Whelan but had not been able to visit him yet. US ambassador Jon Huntsman visited Whelan at the Lefortovo prison in Moscow on Wednesday.

The United States has been cautious in its public comments on the case, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying earlier that Washington was trying to learn more about the situation.

Asked whether the Foreign Office would change its travel advice for British citizens going to Russia, Hunt said: "This is obviously something that is under active consideration." Canadian-born Whelan was arrested last Friday "while carrying out an act of espionage", according to Russia’s FSB domestic security service.

His family has denied he is a spy, saying he was visiting Moscow to attend the wedding of a fellow ex-Marine to a Russian woman. Whelan also holds an Irish passport, an official source told AFP on Friday. The Russian foreign ministry said Whelan was "a British subject". "The British side sent a request for consular visits. It is being worked on."