‘Putin engaged in criminal conduct’

The widow of poisoned spy Alexander Litvinenko has told the inquiry into his death that he believed Vladimir Putin was involved in “criminal conduct”.

Marina Litvinenko said her ex-KGB agent husband met the Russian president in 1998 when he was head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) after Mr Litvinenko was suspended for exposing a plan to assassinate the Russian billionaire, Boris Berozovsky.

At the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Ms Litvinenko, 52, said: “Sasha [Alexander] said it was not a productive meeting at all and he didn’t believe there will be any action after. He didn’t believe Putin, as director of FSB, could make any change on his position.