MYSTERY OVER EXILE’S DEATH AS RUSSIA
COUNTER-TERROR police are probing the death in London of a Russian businessman who was close friends with Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic.
Nikolai Glushkov, 68, was found dead at his home just eight days after former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in Salisbury.
It came as PM Theresa May became embroiled in a war of words about possible action over the Skripal attack. Russia’s foreign ministry warned: “One should not threaten a nuclear power.”
Scotland Yard said there was no evidence to link the two incidents but counter-terror officers were investigating “as a precaution because of associations the man is believed to have had”.
Glushkov is believed to have angered the Kremlin by speaking out on the controversial death of close associate Boris Berezovsky, found hanged in the bathroom of his Berkshire home in 2013.
An inquest recorded an open verdict but dad-of-two Glushkov said he would “never believe” the billionaire took his own life, amid claims he may have been killed by Moscow.
Glushkov, whose body was found by family and friends on Monday night, spent five years in jail in Russia for money laundering and fraud before being freed in 2004. He was eventually granted political asylum in the UK and had suffered heart problems in recent years.
News of his death in south-west London came amid the escalating diplomatic row. Moscow had until midnight last night to explain how the nerve agent used on Skripal, 66, ended up here.
May is poised to hit back at president Vladimir Putin after Kremlin officials ignored the demands. Moscow wanted a sample of the substance but May refused.
The UK could now invoke Article 51 of the UN charter, allowing legitimate self- defence. The PM said the UK must “stand ready to take much more extensive measures” against Russia than before.
May will today address the Commons and outline Britain’s response after chairing a meeting of the Nationa Security Council. One option being considered is a devastating cyber attack.
But the Russian embassy in London said: “Any threat to take ‘punitive’ measures will be met with a response. The British side should be aware of that.”
It came as foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova made the “nuclear power” comments. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov added that claims of Russian involvement in the Skripal assassination bid were “rubbish”.
Meanwhile investigators were probing whether Skripal’s BMW was boobytrapped with nerve agent Novichok.
There were fears a powdered variant was placed in his car’s ventilation system while it was parked on his driveway.
A former British intelligence officer said: “It would be very complicated. You need secure access to install it in the heating/ventilation system for best effect. But you