Britons close Russian office

A British cultural organization on Wednesday accused Russian authorities of harassing its staff and said it had temporarily closed its offices here.

The British Council, which acts as the cultural arm of the British Embassy, said that the director of its St. Petersburg office was followed and stopped by Russian law enforcement authorities and that intelligence agency officials had interviewed its Russian employees.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband described the Russian actions as an attack on the council. Britain’s Foreign Office said Russia’s ambassador to London was summoned for talks with British officials. “Any intimidation or harassment of officials is obviously completely unacceptable,” Miliband said.

The council had defied Russian orders to shut the office Monday.