New sanctions against Moscow could follow Navalny poisoning revelations – Cooper

New sanctions against Moscow could follow from Britain and its allies blaming the Kremlin for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has suggested.

The UK and its allies on Saturday pinned the blame for Mr Navalny’s death on the Russian state, adding he was likely poisoned using a dart frog toxin.

The Foreign Office, and four of the UK’s allies – Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands – made the announcement two years on from Mr Navalny’s death in a Siberian penal colony.

The Russian embassy in London has denied Moscow was involved in Mr Navalny’s death and described the announcement as “feeble-mindedness of Western fabulists”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Foreign Secretary hit back at the Russians, insisting the accusation was “deeply serious”.

She added: “The statement that we made yesterday shows that we have the evidence.”

Analysis of samples from Mr Navalny’s body revealed the presence of a toxin called Epibatidine – which is produced by wild dart frogs in South America.

The UK and its allies said there was no innocent explanation for it being there, as it is not found in Russia, and is generally only produced by the frogs in the wild.

The Foreign Secretary was also asked by the BBC what the consequences for Russia would be following the revelation.

The five European nations who called out Russia for using the toxin have already reported the Kremlin to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons after accusing Moscow of breaching its conventions.

Ms Cooper suggested further sanctions could follow, telling the BBC: “We continue to look at co-ordinated action, including increasing sanctions on the Russian regime.

“As you know, we have been pursuing this as part of our response to the brutal invasion of Ukraine, where we are also coming up to the fourth anniversary of that invasion as well.

“We believe that it is the partnerships that we build abroad that make us stronger at home. It is by acting alongside our European allies, alongside allies across the world, that we do maintain that pressure on the Russian regime.”

She added: “The other thing that I would say specifically about Alexei Navalny is one of the things he said was ‘tell the truth, spread the truth’, because that is the most dangerous weapon of all.

“That was his comment about the Russian regime. He is no longer able to do that, but that is why we are continuing to do that for him, and for his widow as well.”

Elsewhere, senior Conservative Dame Priti Patel warned of an “axis of authoritarianism” faced by the UK and other Western nations.

The shadow foreign secretary spoke to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips ahead of making a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

She told the broadcaster: “We face major challenges on the axis of authoritarianism – that is Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.”

The USA remains a “natural ally” and a “partner” for European powers, Dame Priti added.

A statement from the Russian embassy in London has denied all involvement in Mr Navalny’s death.

It said: “There is no reason whatsoever to credit such ‘findings’ by Western ‘experts’. As with the Skripal case, there are strident accusations, media hysteria, zero evidence, and a host of questions the accusers would rather ignore. So what was it in the end – poison derived from the skin of a South American frog or Novichok?”

The statement added: “We have become accustomed to the feeble-mindedness of Western fabulists. One must ask what kind of person would believe this nonsense about a frog.

“Yet what truly shocks is the method now favoured by Western politicians – necro-propaganda. This is not a quest for justice but a mockery of the dead.

“Even after the death of the Russian citizen, London and the European capitals cannot allow him to rest in peace – a fact that speaks volumes about those who instigated this campaign.”