UK says Russia must explain why Putin critic Navalny was poisoned with Novichok

Toxology tests of blood samples from Alexei Navalny conducted at a German military laboratory produced what Germany called "unequivocal evidence" that he was poisoned with Novichok. "The Russian government has a clear case to answer.

Britain insisted Russia must explain why a critic of Russian President Vladmir Putin has been poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok family and said it is unacceptable that the chemical weapon has been used again. Toxology tests of blood samples from Alexei Navalny conducted at a German military laboratory produced what Germany called "unequivocal evidence" that he was poisoned with Novichok.

"The Russian government has a clear case to answer. It must tell the truth about what happened to Mr Navalny," British foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a statement. "It is absolutely unacceptable that this banned chemical weapon has been used again, and once more we see violence directed against a leading Russian opposition figure."

Britain says Russia used Novichok to poison former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the British city of Salisbury in 2018.