Government criticises Russia’s ‘gangster threat’ against Times journalists

The Government has criticised Moscow’s “desperate rhetoric” after a senior ally of Vladimir Putin threatened The Times newspaper over its coverage of the assassination of a Russian general.

Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and current deputy security council chair, said journalists at The Times were “legitimate military targets” and should “be careful” as “anything goes in London”.

His comments followed a Times editorial in which the newspaper described the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov as “a legitimate act of defence” by Ukraine, which has claimed responsibility for the killing.

General Kirillov, who was in charge of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defence troops, was killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his Moscow apartment on Tuesday.

Asked about Mr Medvedev’s comments, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said they were “simply the latest in a stream of desperate rhetoric coming out of Putin’s government”.

He added: “Unlike in Russia, a free press is a cornerstone of our democracy and we take any threats made by Russia incredibly seriously.

“It’s the first duty of government to protect its citizens. That’s why we have world-leading intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies in the UK and we have made clear that we will do whatever it takes to protect the British public and defend the freedom of the press.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the comments as a “gangster threat” that “smacks of desperation”.

He said: “Our newspapers represent the best of British values: freedom, democracy and independent thinking. I stand with The Times.”

Mr Medvedev, who served a single term as Russian president between 2008 and 2012 to allow Mr Putin to run for an otherwise unconstitutional third term, also threatened Nato figures providing assistance to Ukraine.

In a post on social media, he said: “There’s a whole legion of them. There’s not even enough space to list them, but all these individuals can and should be considered legitimate military targets for the Russian state. And for all Russian patriots for that matter.”