The murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 in the UK was “probably” approved by President Vladimir Putin, an inquiry has found.
Mr Putin is likely to have signed off the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko with polonium-210 in part due to personal “antagonism” between the pair, it said.
Home Secretary Theresa May said the murder was a “blatant and unacceptable” breach of international law.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry said the public inquiry was “politicised”.
It said: “We regret that the purely criminal case was politicised and overshadowed the general atmosphere of bilateral relations.”
The long-awaited report into his death found two Russian men – Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun – deliberately poisoned 43-year-old Mr Litvinenko in London in 2006 by putting the radioactive substance polonium-210 into his drink at a hotel.
Sir Robert Owen, the public inquiry chairman, said he was “sure” Mr Litvinenko’s murder had been carried out by the two men and that they were probably acting under the direction of Moscow’s FSB intelligence service, and approved by the organisation’s chief, Nikolai Patrushev, as well as the Russian president.
He said Mr Litvinenko’s work for British intelligence agencies, his criticism of the FSB and Mr Putin, and his association with other Russian dissidents were possible motives for his killing.
There was also “undoubtedly a personal dimension to the antagonism” between Mr Putin and Mr Litvinenko.
‘Send a message’
The use of polonium 210 was “at the very least a strong indicator of state involvement” as it had to be made in a nuclear reactor, the report said.
The inquiry heard evidence that Mr Litvinenko may have been consigned to a slow death from radiation to “send a message”.
Giving a statement to the House of Commons, Mrs May said Prime Minister David Cameron would raise the findings with President Putin at “the next available opportunity”.
She said the UK would now impose asset freezes on Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun and that international arrest warrants for the pair remained in place. They both deny killing Mr Litvinenko.
Both men are wanted in the UK for questioning, but Russia has refused to extradite them.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the report’s conclusions were “extremely disturbing”, saying: “It is not the way for any state, let alone a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to behave.”
Speaking earlier outside London’s High Court, his widow, Marina, said she was “very happy” that “the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proved by an English court”.
She urged the UK government to expel all Russian intelligence operatives, impose economic sanctions on Moscow and impose a travel ban on Mr Putin.
Officials in Moscow are dismissing the inquiry – once again.
For years Moscow rejected allegations of high-level involvement in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
The main suspect, Andrey Lugovoi, has been given a parliamentary seat and a prominent stage to protest his innocence. He did so again today.
His take has become well-rehearsed and no amount of details published in London are likely to change that.
For almost 10 years Lugovoi has had to stay in Russia as there’s an international warrant for his arrest.
It is unlikely he has any assets to be frozen by the British authorities.
The words about “high probability” invited scorn from him and other official commentators.
In the ironic words of another member of parliament, Nikolai Kovalev, himself an ex-FSB boss, relations between Moscow and London will not be spoilt as there’s no room to make them any worse.
Russian top brass have not commented, perhaps waiting for the political reaction in the UK.
But the fact no significant measures against Russian officials or the economy have been announced may mean Moscow will, once again, consider the case closed.
What is polonium-210?
Responding to the report, Mr Lugovoi, who is now a politician in Russia, said the accusations against him were “absurd”, the Russian news agency Interfax was quoted as saying.
“As we expected, there were no surprises,” he said.
“The results of the investigation made public today yet again confirm London’s anti-Russian position, its blinkeredness and the unwillingness of the English to establish the true reason of Litvinenko’s death.”
Mr Kovtun, now a businessman in Russia, said he would not comment on the report until he got more information about its contents, Interfax reported.
London’s Metropolitan Police said the investigation into the “cold and calculated murder” remained ongoing.
The conclusions of this inquiry are stronger than many expected in pointing the finger at Vladimir Putin personally.
The evidence behind that seems to have come from secret intelligence heard in closed session.
Saying that Alexander Litvinenko was killed because he was an enemy of the Russian state will raise pressure on the British government to take real action – the steps taken nearly a decade ago were only limited in scope.
That may pose difficulties given the importance of Russia’s role in the Middle East, but without tough action people may ask if the Russian government has been allowed to get away with what has been described as an act of nuclear terrorism on the streets of London.
Mr Litvinenko fled to the UK in 2000, claiming persecution. He was granted asylum and gained British citizenship several years later.
In the years before his death, he worked as a writer and journalist, becoming a strong critic of the Kremlin.
It is believed he also worked as a consultant for MI6, specialising in Russian organised crime.
The inquiry heard from 62 witnesses in six months of hearings and was shown secret intelligence evidence about Mr Litvinenko and his links with British intelligence agencies.
Mr Litvinenko fled to the UK in 2000, claiming persecution. He was granted asylum and gained British citizenship several years later.
In the years before his death, he worked as a writer and journalist, becoming a strong critic of the Kremlin.
It is believed he also worked as a consultant for MI6, specialising in Russian organised crime.
Mr Litvinenko fled to the UK in 2000, claiming persecution. He was granted asylum and gained British citizenship several years later.
In the years before his death, he worked as a writer and journalist, becoming a strong critic of the Kremlin.
It is believed he also worked as a consultant for MI6, specialising in Russian organised crime.
The inquiry heard from 62 witnesses in six months of hearings and was shown secret intelligence evidence about Mr Litvinenko and his links with British intelligence agencies.
Agencies
