Luke Daniel Harding (born 1968) is a British political journalist working for The Guardian newspaper, formerly based in Russia.
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Harding studied English at Oxford University. While there he edited the student newspaper Cherwell. He worked for the Sunday Correspondent, the Evening Argus in Brighton and then the Daily Mail before joining The Guardian in 1996.
In February 2011 Harding was refused entry into Russia. He thus became the first foreign journalist to be expelled from Russia since the end of the Cold War. The Guardian linked his expulsion with his unflattering coverage of Russia, including speculation about Vladimir Putin's wealth and Putin's knowledge of the London assassination of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.[1] The director of Index on Censorship, John Kampfner, commented "The Russian government's treatment of Luke Harding is petty and vindictive, and evidence – if more was needed – of the poor state of free expression in that country."[2] Elsa Vidal, head of the European and Central Asia desk at the media freedom watchdog, stated: "This is a serious and shocking step, unprecedented since the Cold War [...] It's an attempt to force correspondents working for foreign media in Moscow to engage in self-censorship."[3]
The expulsion preceded a visit to Britain by Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, leading to suggestions from Labour MP Chris Bryant that the British government might rescind Lavrov's invitation.[4] On 9 February Russia reversed the decision to expel him[1] although it only granted him a short term visa. Harding chose not to seek a further visa and returned to the UK in May. Harding has alleged that during his time in Russia he was harassed by the Federal Security Service, whom he alleges were unhappy at the stories he wrote.[5]
As of August 2011, Harding remains the Guardian's Moscow correspondent.
In an interview with the BBC during his visit to London in February 2011, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded to a question concerning Harding's entry to Russia as follows:
"I looked into the case of Luke Harding when William Hague called me. Indeed he had some problems with his stay in Russia in the past. He was visiting areas where he knew he must get a special permission to visit. He recognizes that this is something that he should have done differently. In spite of this, when he requested for his visa to be extended until May this year – so his kids could finish the school year. This was granted and he was issues an extended certificate of foreign correspondent, he did not pick it up, he urgently moved to London though this certificate was ready and if he wants to work in Russia he must just, you know, resolve this issue and get this certificate and we announced yesterday that there would be no problem with his coming here provided again that he wants to work in Russia. If he wants to discuss this issue endlessly through the media, this would be his choice. On, you know, this entire incident it’s a technical situation that must be resolved if he wants it to be resolved, we are ready for this. But when people say, I read some comments in the British media today – including in the Guardian – that the absence of this accreditation card is not the reason for not allowing to enter because he has a valid visa. I know for sure that UK legislation and Anglo-Saxon countries legislation in general, be it US, UK or Canada clearly states availability of a visa does not mean you can enter and the decision whether you can or not is always taken is always taken by the immigration officer who looks at your passport. So there is nothing unusual. Again, it is a technical matter. If he wants it to be resolved and if he wants to work in Russia as long as his visa allows, he’s welcome to do so." [6]