Britain ordered Malawi's acting ambassador to leave the country on Wednesday soon after the African state expelled Britain's envoy over his criticism of its leader. Malawi, a former British colony, expelled British envoy Fergus Cochrane-Dyet after he called its leadership autocratic in a leaked diplomatic cable, a Malawian government spokesman said on Wednesday.
Hours later, Britain responded by expelling Malawi's acting ambassador to Britain, Flossie Gomile Chidyaonga. Foreign Secretary William Hague in a statement hinted at further consequences saying he had asked UK officials "to review rapidly the full range of our wider relationship with Malawi." Britain is a major aid to donor to Malawi, giving about 93 million pounds ($154 million) a year, according to the British government. Malawi's Weekend Nation newspaper published excerpts of what it said was a March 2011 British diplomatic cable which said President Bingu wa Mutharika was "becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism".