Operation FOOT
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Operation FOOT was the expulsion of 105 Soviet diplomats and trade officials[1] from Great Britain carried out by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Edward Heath in September 1971 as part of the ongoing Cold War.[2] It was, "The largest expulsion of intelligence officials by any government in history."[3] And took place as, "A British response to the general Soviet plan to advance terrorist activities in the West."[4]
Though Britain had engaged in "tit-for-tat" expulsions previously, the expulsion of 105 diplomats was "unprecedented" and "sent shock waves through not just the Kremlin, but through the international community as a whole."[2] Because of this, the expulsion itself received widespread coverage by British news sources and journalist. [1]
Operation Foot, "marked the major turning point in Cold War counter-espionage operations in Britain." and, "made Britain a hard espionage target for Soviet intelligence for the first time."[5]
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