‘Fast-forward to 2018 and the Novichok poisoning in Salisbury and look at the difference. Over a hundred and fifty Russians expelled from embassies around the world! No ifs, no buts. Just instant retribution. That’s the only language Moscow understands.’

She was on a roll now, nodding to herself, as if listening to someone else’s words and agreeing with everything being said.

‘So I think our response has to be equally robust and proportionate, does it not? Moscow has been a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention since 1972, yet what they’ve been up to on Svalbard … well, it shows they’re in clear violation of that treaty. Therefore’ – she placed the palm of her hand down on the table for emphasis – ‘we intend to introduce the following measures.’

She turned to the special adviser sitting beside her, put on her spectacles and glanced quickly through the document being passed to her, eyebrows arched, frowning slightly, then putting it back on the table.

‘First, I am instructing our ambassador to the UN in New York to call for an emergency session of the Security Council this afternoon. We will demand a full and frank account of Russia’s current biological research programmes, both declared and covert. That’s number one.’ She looked up, eyebrows raised once more, as if waiting for someone, anyone, in the room to challenge her. No one did.

‘Second, I will shortly be summoning the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Office to register our strong objections to this flagrant contravention of an international treaty. Third …’ she paused to check the list in front of her ‘… third, my department will be working closely with the Treasury to draw up a draft sanctions list of Russian nationals with business interests in this country who are known to be close to the Kremlin leadership—’

She broke off, seeing a hand up again, halfway down the table. Someone from the Treasury. ‘Yes, Simon? You had a question?’

‘I’m sorry to butt in, Secretary of State, but can the country really afford that? Isn’t it rather self-defeating to our economy? I mean, there are over a quarter of a million Russians living here in London and their money literally underpins the property market. After all the trauma we’ve gone through with Brexit and the pandemic …’ he hesitated, as if the obvious didn’t need to be stated ‘… can we really afford to lose so much Russian investment in this country?’

The foreign secretary swept the spectacles off her face as if she were swatting away some biting insect. ‘I thank you for pointing that out, Simon.’ She gave the junior Treasury minister an over-sweet smile. ‘But I can assure you the PM and I have already gone over this ground. I’m sorry, but a stand simply has to be made. We must stick with our principles. So now, moving on …’ She threw him a stern look. ‘Let’s discuss the list of possible sanctions in more detail.’