The British ordered the Russian crew to leave the aircraft while they should have been present during the search.
Moscow urged London to put an end to the provocation. “We urge the British authorities to stop provocative actions and get the situation back to the legal framework,” Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
The plane’s pilot said the British border force came on board with a sniffer dog allegedly looking for items that are illegal to transport by air, but they refused to provide any specifics. “After the passengers left, unexpectedly policemen arrived and demanded the crew to leave the plane in order to conduct an inspection there in the absence of the crew,” a source told Interfax.
Surprisingly however, the Metropolitan Police tweeted that they were unaware of such a search and confirmed that they were not conducting the search on the Airbus.
We are aware of a story circulating on social media. Please be advised that Metropolitan Police are not conducting a search of an Airbus inbound from Moscow at Heathrow.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 30, 2018
The British Border force left the plane within five to seven minutes after their presence on the Airbus became known on social media.
“The behaviour of the British police is clearly evidence of the desire to conduct some manipulation on board without witnesses,” Zakharova told Rossiya 24 television channel. “We draw the attention of the world community to the unacceptable, dangerous and irresponsible behavior of London,” Zakharova added.
The diplomatic war between Russia and the UK has intensified with British media alleging that President Putin could soon unleash “a team of undercover Russian spooks with secret identities to wreak havoc in Britain”.
The Daily Star continued: “Putin may have also told them to gather intelligence on key infrastructure in Britain, including power, health, military and police services.
“A multifaceted attack designed to cause anarchy in the UK could be launched by the sleepers at a moment’s notice.”
A British intelligence official told the Mirror: “There is likely only to be a handful of them [assassins] and they are a long-term asset for Russian intelligence to be called upon when absolutely necessary.”