Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over ex-spy’s poisoning. Most probably, this will be followed by a symmetric action from the Russian side.
Assuming that the UK considers issuing more consistent sanctions (e.g. financial sanctions), I am wondering if it can afford to issue such sanction, since the Russians seem to have a significant financial influence in London:
Russian wealth has permeated the upper reaches of society in Britain more completely than in any other Western country. The amount of money that post-Soviet oligarchs have pumped into “Londongrad” means, say critics, that David Cameron’s government will never crack down on them, no matter how incensed it is by Russia’s enormities. Accidentally revealed briefing notes stating that London’s financial centre, the City, should not be closed to Russians seemed to bolster the case.
Question: Can the UK afford to extend sanctions to financial ones as a response to the latest ex-spy's murder?
By "afford" I mean that the UK's financial loss will be greater that the loss inflicted on Russia.