Putin 'may have known about spy death plot'

Senior American officials believed Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin could have known about the plan to murder dissident former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, the latest leaked US diplomatic cables have revealed.

Washington’s senior diplomat in Europe, assistant secretary of state Daniel Fried, challenged suggestions that the killing was the work of “rogue elements” in the Russian security forces, adding that it would have been difficult for the operation to go ahead without Mr Putin’s knowledge, such was his attention to detail.