Nikolai Glushkov: Ten deaths on British soil that have been linked to Russia

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As police continue to investigate the murder exiled Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov and poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia the finger of blame has been pointed firmly towards the Kremlin.

While investigators have said here is no evidence to link the two incidents, they have brought less recent deaths of Russian nationals on British soil into sharp focus once more.

Here are 10 cases that have been connected to Russia in some way:

Days before as he was to meet investigators who were looking into Russia’s state links to organised crime, Russian diplomat Igor Ponomarev collapsed and died.

Shortly before his death on 30 October 2006, the 41-year-old had complained of extreme thirst.

Just two days later former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko fell ill and was admitted to Barnet General Hospital in north London. His death on 23 November was later attributed to the radioactive substance, polonoium-210, large traces of which were found in his body.

It emerged that he had fallen ill after meeting with former Russian agents Andrei Lugovoi - the main suspect over his murder - and Dmitri Kovtun, at a London hotel where they had taken tea.

Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoi and a 2016 inquiry led by Sir Robert Owen concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had probably approved the murder.

Yuri Golubev, the co-founder of oil-giant Yuko, was found dead shortly after he returned from a trip to Russia.

However, his death was not treated as suspicious.

Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian businessman and politician, was nitially a close ally to Mr Putin. But he later became critical of the Russian President.

He had warned there were assassination plots against him before he was found collapsed in his mansion in Leatherhead, Surrey.

But police later concluded that he had died from cardiac related causes.

Gareth Williams, the former GCHQ codebreaker was found dead locked inside a sports bag in his flat.

A coroner concluded that the 32-year-old's death was "unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated".

Before his death it was reported that focused on Russia and money-laundering.

In 2015 former KGB agent Boris Karpichkov, who defected to Britain, suggested that the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, also known as the SVR, had killed Williams because he refused to defect.

Alexander Perepilichnyy was a businessman who exposed $230m tax fraud by corrupt Russian government officials.

He died of a sudden heart attack in Surrey.

Although police did not suspect foul play an inquest was told that traces of poisonous plant were found in his stomach.

Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky moved to Britain after he had a falling out with his one-time protege Vladimir Putin, of whom he became a vocal critic.

He was founded hanged in his home in Sunninghill, Berkshire and while a post mortem ruled that his death was consistent with hanging, a coroner recorded an open verdict.

Property developer Scot Young was a friend of Berezovsky, who represented the oligarch in business trips to Russia.

He was found impaled on the railings outside his London flat after he fell from the fourth floor. Shortly before his death, he phoned his ex-girlfriend and told her he was going to jump.

But an investigation by Buzzfeed in 2018 suggested that United States' spy agencies believed that the Russian state was involved in the death.

Shortly after Mr Young died, his friend Johnny Elichaoff fell to his death from a car park roof.

Shortly before his death, he lost a significant amount of money in oil investments and it is believed he took his own life.

Dr Matthew Puncher, the British scientist who discovered that Litvinenko had been poisoned, died five months after visiting Russia.

The 46-year-old bled to death at his Oxfordshire home from multiple stab wounds inflicted by two knives.

A pathologist said he could not "exclude' the possibility that someone else was involved in the death", but concluded the injuries were self-inflicted.

A coroner ruled he had committed suicide.