Russia today rejected claims that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning of Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who is in a coma at a German hospital. Navalny’s friends have pointed the finger at Putin after the opposition leader fell ill on a flight in Siberia and was airlifted to Berlin in a critical condition. Kremlin … Read more
Supporters of ‘poisoned’ Vladimir Putin foe Alexei Navalny claim the Kremlin is risking his life by refusing to allow him to be flown for treatment in the West. Navalny was due to be flown out of the Siberian city of Omsk, where he remains in a ‘deep coma’ and hooked up to a ventilator, at … Read more
As I took my seat in the spartan, bug-swept offices of the intelligence and security committee’s anonymous Westminster headquarters in the summer of 2018, my excitement was tempered with trepidation. Since watching the Soviet empire collapse 30 years ago, I had been sounding the alarm about Russia‘s reluctance to give up its dreams of empire. … Read more
MI5 are to be granted tough new powers to make the UK a harsher environment for Kremlin spies to operate in after a damning report by MPs said the Government ‘took its eye off the ball.’ In a devastating and long-awaited report, intelligence and security committee said the UK ‘badly underestimated’ the Russian threat as … Read more
Long-awaited Russia report finds the UK government ‘underestimated the threat from the Kremlin and is still playing catch up’ as it is FINALLY published after nine month delay By Jack Maidment, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline Published: 10:41 BST, 21 July 2020 | Updated: 10:46 BST, 21 July 2020 A long-awaited report in allegations of … Read more
The Salisbury Poisonings Rating: Every night on the news, as reporters investigate a stabbing or a suburban drugs bust, you will hear a bystander say: ‘That sort of thing just doesn’t happen around here.’ It’s the universal cry of the baffled neighbour. It could have been a slogan on the T-shirt of every character we … Read more
BOOK OF THE WEEK PUTIN’S PEOPLE by Catherine Belton (William Collins, £25, 640pp) Thank heavens for coronavirus! I know I shouldn’t say that but there are some small blessings in the current pandemic. In Russia, the national referendum to extend Vladimir Putin’s stay in office for another 12 years has been postponed. The proposal that … Read more