Hain warns of Russian attacks on liberty

Monday, 27 November 2006 12:00 AM

A cabinet minister has risked damaging relations with Russia by warning there have been "huge attacks" on liberty and democracy under president Vladimir Putin.

Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain was speaking after the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, which his friends blamed on the Kremlin.

Yesterday home secretary John Reid confirmed that police were treating the death as suspicious, after discovering high quantities of the radioactive material polonium-210 (Po-210) in Mr Litvinenko's body.

Shadow home secretary David Davis has now called for a ministerial statement on the death, saying it represented a possible security threat.

"It is essential that other dissidents living in Britain are reassured about their safety and there are also questions about how Po-210 came to be used in Britain," he said.

Ministers have been careful not to respond to any allegations about Russia's involvement - something President Putin has denied - other than to say that the Foreign Office has asked the Kremlin for any information that may be useful to the investigation.

However, speaking on BBC One's Sunday AM yesterday, Mr Hain said: "There have been huge attacks on individual liberty and on democracy and it's important [Mr Putin] retakes the democratic road in my view."

He added: "The promise that President Putin brought to Russia when he came to power has obviously been clouded by what has happened since, and including some extremely murky murders."

Mr Hain referred to the recent Moscow murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was a critic of the Kremlin's policy in Chechnya. Mr Litvinenko was reportedly investigating her death when he fell ill.

"There's lots of things that have been happening in Russia which actually cast a cloud over President Putin's success in binding the place together and in achieving economic stability out of chaos," the Northern Ireland secretary said.

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• europe
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• foreign policy
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• russia