LONDON, January 23 (RIA Novosti, Alexander Smotrov) - The British Foreign Office has rejected allegations made in a Russian television program that its diplomats were engaged in espionage in Russia.
Reacting to a program shown on the Rossiya television channel on Sunday night, the Foreign Office said it was "concerned and surprised" by the allegations that individuals had gained access to classified data by using a high-tech piece of equipment disguised as a rock.
The program on the state television channel featured interviews with people who claimed to be representatives of Russia's domestic security agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB). In echoes of the Cold War, they said that British agents had planted a transmitter in an imitation rock on a Moscow street to record classified computer data, which was later downloaded by British embassy officials.
The program also claimed that British officials had maintained close contacts with Russian non-governmental organizations, and provided them with funding. The role of NGOS has been under the microscope in Russia since "revolutions" in other former Soviet republics brought new authorities to power amid allegations of external funding and interference. A controversial new law was passed at the end of last year placing certain restrictions on foreign organizations.
The Foreign Office merely said that some well-publicized payments had been made to human rights activist in a bid to help a "healthy" civil society develop. "We reject any allegations of improper conduct in our dealing with Russian NGOs," it said.
The Russian political elite has been seeking to establish a civil society in Russia and ironically the television program coincided with the election Sunday of top officials to the Public Chamber, a watchdog set up by the president to act as a bridge between the legislative and executive branches and the public.
The allegations in the program were made based on a recording made by a FSB hidden camera.
