Lord Cameron urges world to hold 'Putin and his cronies to account' after Navalny death

Lord Cameron said the 'whole world should get behind Ukraine, should support Ukraine', as International Affairs Editor Rageh Omaar reports

Lord Cameron has urged the international community to "call out the illegality" of Vladimir Putin's regime in the wake of Alexei Navalny's death.

The foreign secretary said the government's decision to sanction six individuals at the head of the Arctic penal colony where Navalny - a fierce critic of the Russian president - died showed its commitment to holding to account those responsible, including "Putin and his cronies".

The men are now banned from the UK and subject to an asset freeze preventing UK companies and individuals from dealing with them.

Speaking at the G20 Summit in Brazil, Lord Cameron said: "There is no more serious an issue for the world, and it's the world that's gathered here, than one country invading another in this completely illegal and unacceptable way.

"And the whole world should get behind Ukraine, should support Ukraine, and should call out the illegality of what Putin and his cronies have done."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK and its allies were considering all options to respond to the death of Navalny and sent condolences to his family.

Addressing the Commons, he added: "He died for a cause to which he dedicated his whole life, freedom. And to return home knowing that [Vladimir] Putin had already tried to have him killed was one of the most courageous acts of our time.

“Together with our allies we are considering all options to hold Russia and Putin to account and this morning we sanctioned those running the prison where Alexei Navalny’s body still lies."

The imprisoned Russian opposition leader and vocal Putin critic was found dead on Friday, the state prison service announced.

Navalny's mother has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials' refusal to release her son's body. Lyudmila Navalnaya has been trying to retrieve her son's body since Saturday.

Navalny's widow, Yulia, released a video Monday accusing the Kremlin of killing her husband and alleged the refusal to release his body was part of a cover-up.

Russian authorities say the cause of Navalny's death is still unknown and refused to release his body for the next two weeks, as the preliminary inquest continues.

Arrests have been mounting in Russia after people gathered to mourn Navalny's death.

Police had detained 366 people across 12 Russian cities by Saturday night, according to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests and provides legal aid.

Those sanctioned are listed as the head of the penal colony, Colonel Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, and his deputies:

• Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Nikolaevich Korzhov

• Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Alexandrovich Vydrin

• Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Pilipchik

• Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr Vladimirovich Golyakov

• Colonel Aleksandr Valerievich Obraztsov

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…