Alexei Navalny: Dominic Raab summons Russian ambassador to UK after novichok poisoning of Kremlin critic

‘There is a case here for Russia to answer,’ says Foreign Office

NATO and Germany have said there is 'proof beyond doubt' that Putin critic Alexei Navalny was attacked with a Novichok nerve agent

Russia’s ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office and ordered to explain the circumstances around the poisoning of the country’s opposition leader, Dominic Raab has said.

Escalating pressure on Moscow, the foreign secretary said the UK was registered its “deep concern” over the alleged use of a nerve agent against Alexei Navalny, who was taken out of an induced coma at a Berlin hospital on Monday.

After a meeting with the Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko, Mr Raab said he had called on the country's authorities to hold a “full, transparent investigation” into the use of a banned chemical weapon against the vocal critic of Vladimir Putin.

His remarks came after the German chancellor said Berlin had concluded Mr Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok – the same substance the UK government said was used against  Sergei Skripal and his daughter in an attack in Salisbury in 2018.

While the Kremlin has denied it was involved in the poisoning, Angela Merkel said last week: “There are serious questions that only Russia can answer.”

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office added: “The UK government registered its deep concern with the Russian government about the poisoning of Alexey Navalny with a chemical nerve agent from the novichok group.

“The foreign secretary has made it clear that it is absolutely unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used, and that violence has again been directed against a leading Russian opposition figure.

“There is a case here for Russia to answer. This took place on Russian soil, against a Russian citizen. They have international obligations to uphold.  This is nothing short of an attack against the rules based international system which keeps our societies safe.

“Russia needs to conduct a full, transparent criminal investigation into Mr Navalny’s poisoning. We will work with our partners, including through action in the OPCW, to hold the perpetrators to account.”

On Monday, Berlin’s Charite hospital said 44-year-old Mr Navalny was being weaned off mechanical ventilation after falling ill on a domestic flight in Russia on 20 August. "It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning," it said in a statement.

The hospital noted that he was responding to speech but "long-term consequences of the serious poisoning can still not be ruled out".