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Vladimir Putin 'probably' approved Alexander Litvinenko killing in London

President Vladimir Putin "probably" approved the assassination of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, a public inquiry has found.

Sir Robert Owen's report said Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun were probably acting under the direction of Moscow's FSB intelligence service when they poisoned him with radioactive polonium 210 at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair in 2006.

The Home Secretary said the Russian ambassador will be summoned to the Foreign Office to be told about the Government’s anger about the case.

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Boris Johnson: Litvinenko murder 'needs the fiercest possible diplomatic response'

Boris Johnson Credit: ITV News

The possible "state sponsored" murder of Litvinenko on the streets of London is "something we in this country simply cannot ignore", Boris Johnson has told ITV News.

The Mayor of London said if it is true that Putin or agencies of the Russian state were behind the murder then it "deserves the fiercest possible diplomatic response".

There's no doubt in my mind that if it is true, that Putin or agencies of the Russian state were behind that murder then that is something we in this country simply cannot ignore.

That is state sponsored murder on the streets of London. I feel it deserves the fiercest possible diplomatic response.

I think that President Putin, if indeed responsible, must be held to account.

– Boris Johnson, mayor of London
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Vladimir Putin 'probably' approved Alexander Litvinenko killing in London

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