Latest news with #AlexanderLitvinenko
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Ex-counter terror cop threatened to slit son's throat before blowing himself up in family home with stockpiled petrol which police did not deem 'high risk', inquest hears
An ex-Scotland Yard counter-terror officer who blew himself up in the family home had threatened to slit his son's throat, but police didn't deem him 'high risk', an inquest has heard. Malcolm Baker, who helped investigate the fatal poisoning of ex-KGB agent-turned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, died in a house explosion after apparently dousing himself in petrol as police arrived to arrest him in September 2022. The 60-year-old had been reported to police repeatedly by his wife for domestic abuse in the months before the fatal blast - including menacingly leaving a dead rabbit in her bed after she watched The Godfather. An inquest into his death at Wells Coroner's Court heard how Mr Baker's son had alleged his father threatened to 'slit his throat' as part of a campaign of abuse which saw him stockpile 125 litres of petrol in and around the home. In a statement to police read out in court, Jude Onody told officers his father would 'grip my neck and shoulders tightly and he'd say things like I'll slit your throat and he'd be laughing 'I would tell him to get off and he would step back and say 'who do you think you're talking to, this is my house.' But Temporary Det Insp George Pettingell of Avon and Somerset Police told the court officers did not consider Mr Baker to be 'high risk.' Mr Pettingell, who oversaw the case, said the decision was made to continue collecting evidence against Mr Baker, before performing an arrest. He explained the difficulties of securing a charging decision against Mr Baker on the available evidence – just weeks before he blew up the family home. Mr Baker's fuel stockpile was not seen as a risk, because of the rural setting and existence of farm machinery at the property – despite the fact the vehicles, which included a tractor and quadbike, run on diesel. 'There was certainly no criminal offence committed by him having extra fuel and no direct threat of violence or doing anything with that petrol,' the officer told the inquest. Mr Baker's wife and children were evacuated from the building shortly before the explosion, the inquest previously heard. The court also learned that Britain's 'nuclear police', the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, had an interest in Mr Baker, and requested to be present at his arrest. The Civil Nuclear Constabulary is a special force which provides security around nuclear sites and nuclear materials. Giving evidence, Mr Pettingell revealed the force had heard from the CNC who wanted to question Mr Baker, over documents he was alleged to have had in his possession. Asked if the CNC's interest influenced officer's decision not to attempt an arrest, Mr Pettingell said: 'The CNC wanted to question him over the possession of documents, that was a matter for them and didn't form part of our decision.' However the jury pursued the line of questioning and asked Mr Pettingell about the involvement of the CNC in the case. He replied that Mr Baker's work as a consultant following his retirement from the police was connected with Hinkley Point C, telling jurors: 'My understanding is he was doing work around the area which is why they became involved. 'I don't know the full circumstances of his employment or what his business was but the CNC, they are a separate entity that get involved in matters involving that sort of thing.' Another juror followed up to ask if Mr Baker was aware he was in possession of potentially 'confidential' documents and that the CNC were aware of the situation, to which Pettingell said he did not know and could not speculate. Giving evidence, Mr Baker's wife, Francesca Onody, earlier said Baker had been shredding documents in his bedroom before he locked himself in and doused himself in petrol. It is understood Avon and Somerset Police were alerted to the potential existence of these documents, before referring the case to the CNC, who then asked to be present at the interview, should an arrest be made. Facing questions from Ms Onody's barrister, Mr Pettingell was asked about the number of agencies interested in Baker, which included the CNC, the national fraud team and local police. He was asked if this multi-agency response muddled the situation and meant there was not 'one clear picture.' Mr Pettingell said 'It was an extremely complicated investigation.' He added: 'I think in terms of the multi-agency response, it made it a more complex investigation and under the circumstances it took more time to get the stage where we understood all the allegations made.' The inquest, which is being heard by a jury, is due to last for five days.
Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Brit kids 'must do their bit' amid threat of war in UK, government report warns
Chilling escalation in "grey zone' warfare against the UK by Russia and its allies means every one of us Britons needs to do our bit to allow the military to prepare for war Britain has been plunged into a dangerous crisis zone 'between peace and war' with increasing attacks from hostile states led by Russia, an alarming new report reveals. And the cross-party Defence Committee has called upon Britons - including even children - to be taught measures to combat the threat, which is just below the 'threshold for war.' Called Defence in the Grey Zone it warns we need a 'whole of society' approach to beat attacks from countries such as Russia. It warns the UK is being targeted in the 'Grey Zone' between peace and war and it is worsening daily with attacks of sabotage, espionage, cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns. One of the biggest threats that may still be below the threshold for all-out war, it to the UK's undersea cables linking Britain and Europe's communications to the US. And chillingly the report, out today but launched two years ago, said that: 'Recently, the speed, scale and intensity of grey zone threats in the UK has increased.' It identifies the main and immediate threat as Russia, which has become alarmingly aggressive since the Ukraine invasion and the UK's support for Kyiv. The report reads: 'Russia's hostility has long been evident.' 'Witness the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and the assassination attempt on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in 2018 using the Novichok nerve agent, but has accelerated significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It argues that the MoD must help spread awareness of the threat to wider society, even dumping some responsibility for the battle on schoolchildren. And once society has become used to the precautions it must take against hostile threats, that will leave the military to prepare for the possibility of going to war. The report says: 'Defence in the Grey Zone' urges the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to proactively engage with wider society – including businesses, schools and communities – to help generate an informed dialogue around grey zone threats to the UK and build consensus around a common response. 'The MOD could pitch this 'offer' to society, in conjunction with building cyber skills and awareness – from protecting critical national industries, and preventing ransomware attacks, to teaching school children to stay safe online. 'By sharing its crisis management expertise with other departments and wider society, the MOD can help strengthen long-term resilience planning and preparedness across the UK. 'This would also allow the Armed Forces to focus on their primary responsibility during any serious international conflict, deterring or defeating military threats. . .' The Committee argues that nobody in the UK is excluded from the daily threat which chairman, Labour MP Tan Dhesi says helps 'unsettle the fabric of our day-to-day lives.' He added: 'Grey zone threats bring war to the doorstep of each and every one of us. These attacks do not discriminate; they target the whole of our society and so demand a whole of society response, in which we all must play our part.' And he said the nature of this new Cold War - often called a 'hybrid war ' means the responsibility of fighting it does not just fall on the MoD. He said: 'The MOD plays an important part in defending the nation from grey zone attacks, but it is only a part. 'We must now assume that any vulnerability will be exploited against us. The industries and technologies we rely on most are clear targets for hostile states. This is why, in today's report, we are calling for a shoring up of our digital and cyber skills and protections. The report argues that often hostile states disguise the source of the attack by using proxies, such as extremist sympathisers, 'hacktivists' or criminal gangs. These can launch cyber or sabotage attacks leaving the enemy state at arm's length.
Al Jazeera
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia expels two British diplomats for alleged spying
Russia has accused two British diplomats of spying and ordered them to leave the country within two weeks, the latest in a series of tit-for-tat expulsions over alleged espionage. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had revoked the accreditation of the diplomats, accusing them of providing false information when obtaining permission to enter Russia. The counterintelligence agency further said it had 'identified signs of intelligence and subversive work' that the two personnel had carried out, harming Russian security. The announcement came as diplomatic relations between Russia and the United Kingdom continue to deteriorate in the wake of the former's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On Friday, a jury in London convicted three Bulgarian nationals based in the UK for carrying out 'industrial-scale' spying for Russia. Last week, a Russian court also sentenced to 19 years in prison a British man captured while fighting for Ukraine in Russia's Kursk region. And in early February, the UK said it would revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, in retaliation to a similar move made by Russia in November last year. The FSB did not identify the two diplomats by name, but said they were the British embassy's second secretary and the husband of the first secretary, who came to the country 'under the cover of the national embassy'. The Russian Foreign Ministry also summoned a British embassy representative in connection with the allegations. In a statement, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson denounced Russia's latest expulsion and accusations of spying. 'This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff,' the spokesperson said. Intelligence scandals throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin's quarter-century in power have strained diplomatic ties between Russia and the UK. In 2006, the UK had accused Moscow of being behind the assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London poisoning attack. Sergei Skripal, with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Roya News
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Russia expels two British diplomats
Russia said Monday it was expelling two British "diplomats" on suspicion of carrying out espionage activities. Announcing the expulsion of the embassy's second secretary and husband of the first secretary, Russia's FSB security service said "counterintelligence work had revealed an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy." It said the two "deliberately provided false information when obtaining a permit to enter our country, thus violating Russian legislation." The UK did not immediately respond to the allegation. The Russian foreign ministry has revoked their accreditations and ordered them to leave Russia within two weeks, the FSB said. The ministry also summoned an embassy representative in connection with the allegations, it said in a post on Telegram. Relations between Moscow and London have been strained by intelligence scandals throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin's quarter-century in power. The UK accused Moscow of being behind the 2006 assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London poisoning attack. And in 2018, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian embassy officials they said were spies over the attempted poisoning of former double agent, Sergei Skripal, with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Arab News
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Russia says expelling two British ‘diplomats' on spying charges
MOSCOW: Russia said Monday it was expelling two British 'diplomats' on suspicion of carrying out espionage the expulsion of the embassy's second secretary and husband of the first secretary, Russia's FSB security service said 'counterintelligence work had revealed an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy.'It said the two 'deliberately provided false information when obtaining a permit to enter our country, thus violating Russian legislation.'The UK did not immediately respond to the Russian foreign ministry has revoked their accreditations and ordered them to leave Russia within two weeks, the FSB ministry also summoned an embassy representative in connection with the allegations, it said in a post on between Moscow and London have been strained by intelligence scandals throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin's quarter-century in UK accused Moscow of being behind the 2006 assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London poisoning in 2018, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian embassy officials they said were spies over the attempted poisoning of former double agent, Sergei Skripal, with Soviet-era nerve agent announcement came as Russia shifts blame for the Ukraine conflict away from the United States to Europe, as US President Donald Trump's administration seeks closer ties with the Kremlin.
