Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper banned from Russia

Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are among a number of Labour ministers to have been banned from entering Russia.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor and Home Secretary are among 30 Britons put on a 'stop list' by the Kremlin's foreign affairs ministry.

The list, which also includes journalists and business leaders, was issued tonight in response to what Russia claimed was Britain's 'hostile actions'.

The ministry pointed to UK sanctions on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, as well as Britain's support for Kyiv during more than 1,000 days of war.

It claimed this was 'bordering on the direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict'.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Health Secretary Wes Streeting were also among the Cabinet ministers listed.

Board members from drone firm Callen-Lenz and journalists from the Daily Mail and The Times were also on the list.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy were already banned from Russia in 2022.

Russia's ministry of foreign affairs said: 'In response to the hostile actions of the British side, a decision was made to include on the Russian 'stop list' a number of representatives of the political establishment, the military bloc, high-tech enterprises, and the British journalistic corps who have demonstrated themselves to be anti-Russian.'

It came as Downing Street denied allegations that a UK diplomat being kicked out of Russia was a spy.

Russian media reported that a staffer at Britain's embassy in Moscow had been expelled and the UK's ambassador to Moscow had been summoned.

A No10 spokesman said: 'To be clear, we refute these allegations. They're baseless. We're now considering our response.'

Downing Street said it would not pre-empt whether the UK might respond with a tit-for-tat expulsion.

'This is not the first time that (Vladimir) Putin's government has made malicious, baseless accusations against our staff,' the spokesman added.

'You'll remember that the Kremlin baselessly curtailed the accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia earlier this year following action taken by the UK Government in response to the Russian state directing activity across Europe and in the UK.

'Today's announcement is no surprise coming from President Putin's government, which has overseen an illegal war in Ukraine.

'The UK Government is unapologetic about protecting our national interests and will now respond in due course, and our embassy in Moscow will continue its important work in Russia to support UK interests.'

The UK diplomat has had his accreditation revoked and must leave the country within two weeks, state-owned news agency Tass reported, citing Russian security service the FSB.

The agency claimed he had provided false information to enter the country and alleged he was engaged in spying and sabotage, according to the report.

The diplomat worked at the embassy in Moscow and had replaced one of the six British intelligence officers who were expelled in August, according to Tass.

The Foreign Office at the time said Russia's accusation that those diplomats were spies was baseless and that the expulsions were part of a campaign to deter the UK's support for Ukraine.

The British ambassador to Russia, Nigel Casey, has been summoned by Russia's foreign affairs ministry, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Tass.

Tory shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: 'Moscow continues with its unjustified campaign of fear and intimidation.

'The UK continues to stand strong in our response and our support for Ukraine, and we will not be deterred by this baseless expulsion.'