UK: Russia Must Explain Reporter's Expulsion

LONDON (AP) - Britain's government says it has demanded that Russia explain why it expelled a British reporter from Moscow.

Luke Harding, Moscow correspondent of the Guardian newspaper, was refused entry to Russia when he attempted to return last weekend.

Europe Minister David Liddington said Tuesday that Foreign Secretary William Hague has called his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to demand an explanation about Harding's treatment.

Liddington says it is not known whether Harding has the right to appeal his expulsion.

Hague plans to discuss the issue with Lavrov in a meeting in London next week.

Lawmakers suspect Harding was targeted after he wrote a Dec. 1 article quoting leaked U.S. diplomatic cables that described Russia as a corrupt autocracy.