Russia says UK 'playing with fire' in spy case

UNITED NATIONS - The international furor over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter intensified, with Russia warning the United Kingdom that it was "playing with fire".

At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that Russia was the victim of a hasty, sloppy and ill-intentioned defamation campaign by London and its allies.

The UK has blamed Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. In response, more than two dozen Western allies including the UK, the US and NATO have ordered out over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity.