The UK wants action to be taken after evidence showed Russia killed political prisoner Alexei Navalny with frog poison, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
Two years ago, Russian opposition leader Navalny, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, died suddenly in the the Siberian prison where he was being held on trumped-up charges.
European labs have now confirmed he died from the obscure poison, which Cooper says only the Russian government had the “means, motive and opportunity” to use.
She told the BBC proof of the toxin was a “clear breach” of international chemical weapons rules and “we do want to see action” taken, which could include continuing coordinated sanctions on Russia.
Cooper is currently attending the Munich Security Conference alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, where the pair have been calling for European allies to be ready to fight, particularly against threats from Russia.
Appearing on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, she was asked what the consequences would be after evidence showed the Kremlin was responsible for Navalny’s death.
Speaking from a snow-covered Munich rooftop, Cooper said Britain and its allies must be ready to face down Russian aggression, which includes “the use of lethal toxins against their own citizens”.
“We have been pursuing the truth on this since Alexei died in prison,” she said, in an effort to continue Navalny’s work to “tell the truth, spread the truth” about the Russian regime under Putin, “because that is the most dangerous weapon of all”.
“He is no longer able to do that, but that is why we are continuing to do that for him, and for his widow as well,” she added.
Moscow has previously claimed Navalny died of natural causes, although Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya has consistently argued her husband was “murdered” by poisoning.
The tests – carried out by five European countries using samples from his body smuggled out of the prison – showed the substance that killed him was developed from the toxin found in Ecuadorian dart frogs.
The Russian embassy in London has denied Moscow was involved in Navalny’s death and described the announcement as “feeble-mindedness of Western fabulists” and accused critics of “necro-propaganda”.
However, Cooper told Kuenssberg the use of poison “is evidence of the aggression that is unfortunately going to be continuing” against Europe “and we need to be ready to respond to that”.
“A group of European ministers has now reported this to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for them to pursue because we see this as a clear breach of the chemical weapons international rules and convention so we do want to see action there, holding some accountability,” she said.
Asked what specific action could be taken by the UK, Cooper said: “We continue to look at co-ordinated action, including increasing sanctions on the Russian regime.
“As you know, we have been pursuing this as part of our response to the brutal invasion of Ukraine, where we are also coming up to the fourth anniversary of that invasion as well.
“We believe that it is the partnerships that we build abroad that make us stronger at home. It is by acting alongside our European allies, alongside allies across the world, that we do maintain that pressure on the Russian regime.”
Also appearing on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel called on the government to “step up its own actions” against Russia because sanctions are “being busted and circumvented”.
Speaking from the conference in Munich, she said: “Action needs to be taken against Russia, there’s no doubt about that, and you will recall when Alexei Navalny was murdered back in 2024 it was our government that led the way in terms of sanctions, taking drastic action, calling for the transparent investigation of his murder.
“We need to do much more, I think, when it comes to action against Russia.
“We really need to take direct action against some of the individuals in the UK, the ambassador again needs to be called in.”
Dame Priti argued for “cutting off all the financial flows that are basically still propping up Russia and the Russian economy”, including closing down Russian oil refineries.
“We’ve got to target those businesses and go after them,” she said.
“We’ve really got to start taking direct action against these financial lifelines that basically are propping up Russia, the Russian state, and this awful permissive Russian activity that we’re seeing, including the state sponsored murders and assassinations that the Russian state is so heavily involved in.”
A statement from the Russian embassy in London has continued to deny all involvement in Navalny’s death, stating: “There is no reason whatsoever to credit such ‘findings’ by Western ‘experts’.
“As with the Skripal case, there are strident accusations, media hysteria, zero evidence, and a host of questions the accusers would rather ignore.
“So what was it in the end – poison derived from the skin of a South American frog or Novichok?”
The statement added: “We have become accustomed to the feeble-mindedness of Western fabulists. One must ask what kind of person would believe this nonsense about a frog.
“Yet what truly shocks is the method now favoured by Western politicians – necro-propaganda. This is not a quest for justice but a mockery of the dead.
“Even after the death of the Russian citizen, London and the European capitals cannot allow him to rest in peace – a fact that speaks volumes about those who instigated this campaign.”
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