Calls are growing for Britain to freeze the assets of UK-based Russian oligarchs named by the US as being close to President Vladimir Putin.
Friends of Mr Putin could be in the firing line if detectives can confirm a link between Moscow and the nerve agent attack on an ex-Russian spy in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
And politicians from right and left are now calling for new laws to hit the Russian leader’s cronies where it hurts them most – in their pockets.
Former minister Ian Austin told MailOnline: ‘I think this is a test for Britain, and it is a test as to whether we are going to stand up for our values. Are we going to be prepared to let corrupt, stolen Russian money come to London?
‘Putin is a gangster and a thug – he is an old style KGB gangster. It’s the Russian people who are the victims here.’
Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, are both still fighting for their lives after being found unconscious on a park bench at a shopping centre.
Calls are growing for Britain to freeze the assets of UK-based Russian oligarchs named by the US as being close to Vladimir Putin (left), after the poison plot against Sergei Skripal (right)
Mr Austin, a minister in Gordon Brown’s government, told us: ‘We have got to take a much tougher approach. There is a lot of corrupt money being invested in London.
‘People who have stolen millions and even billions of pounds from the Russian people are using the UK to buy property and educate their children, and I think that is not acceptable.
‘We need to say that London is no going to be the destination of choice for money that has been stolen from the Russian people, and by people who have committed in some cases really outrageous human rights abuses.’
He said that Britain has key values of ‘democracy and freedom’ and that ‘we have got to stand up for them’.
Vladimir Putin’s former judo partner Arkady Rotenberg (pictured together) last month lost a battle to stay anonymous after a court dispute in London with his ex-wife over money
At least five of the cronies named on the US list have strong links to Britain, including Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich (left) and Arsenal part-owner Alisher Usmanov (right)
Mr Austin said that there is growing support for a change in the law from politicians across the political divide, and he is hopeful that amendments being tabled to upcoming legislation will bring in tougher sanctions.
He said: ‘That support was building and developing before the terrible events of this week. But clearly now it looks extremely likely that Russian suspects were behind this poisoning, and that will prove to people what we have bene saying for years.
‘I think this is a test for Britain, and it is a test as to whether we are going to stand up for our values. Are we going to be prepared to let corrupt, stolen Russian money come to London?
‘Putin says this is anti-Russian – but it isn’t. We are on the side of the Russian people. Putin is a gangster and a thug – he is an old style KGB gangster. It’s the Russian people who are the victims here.’
Security Minister Ben Wallace said the Government was ready to respond with ‘the full force of the United Kingdom’s resources’ once they had established who was responsible for the attack.
‘Once we have established the facts and the attribution, the Government and law enforcement and others will respond appropriately as a country such of the United Kingdom should,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘We will respond with the full force of the United Kingdom’s resources if that is the appropriate and proportionate thing to do.
‘If we are to take solid steps in response to whoever has done this, we are going to make sure that we do it in a considered (way) – but we also do it in an effective way and in a way that makes sure that Britain and British citizens and their interests are safe as a result of that response.
‘We want to make sure that we are effective in whatever our response is. If that is arresting a couple of people and getting them in jail, then that is what we shall do.
‘There are lots of things that the United Kingdom can do. It is a powerful country with a powerful economy, powerful allies, powerful military and powerful other capabilities and we shall look at those all.’
Former Tory minister Sir Edward Leigh said the UK had to show it was willing to stand up to Moscow, adding: ‘The circumstantial evidence against Russia is strong.
‘Who else would have the motive and the means? Those of us who seek to understand Russia know that the only way to preserve peace is through strength.
‘If Russia is behind this, it is a brazen act of war and humiliates our country.’
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has already warned that Russia will face ‘robust’ consequences if it is found to be behind the attack on Sunday afternoon.
The British authorities could take their lead from the Trump Administration.
In January, the US Treasury published a list of Mr Putin’s cronies as part of a sanctions law designed to punish Russia for interfering in the US election.
The list included 114 senior figures in President Putin’s government and 96 oligarchs worth more than $1billion (£720million) each.
And at least five on the list have strong links to Britain, including Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich and Arsenal part-owner Alisher Usmanov.
Another is Mr Putin’s ex-judo partner Arkady Rotenberg, who last month lost a battle to stay anonymous after a court dispute in London with his ex-wife over money.
A fourth is Oleg Deripaska, who floated energy giant En+ on the London Stock Exchange last year in a controversial move that is said to have caused the UK security concerns.
And the billionaire is taking Mr Abramovich to court in London to prevent the latter from selling his stake in mining firm Norilsk Nickel to rival Vladimir Potanin, who is also on the list.
The release of the ‘Putin list’ was criticised in Russia, with the president saying it was an ‘unfriendly act’, while another senior politician described as a ‘further escalation of tensions’.
In the UK, Foreign Office officials are thought to be going through a list of Russian diplomats to identify potential candidates for expulsion from Britain.
Miss Rudd has also indicated that new ‘Unexplained Wealth Orders’ could be used against Mr Putin’s cronies with property in the UK.
These orders allow for the confiscation of criminal assets in Britain – and senior Russian figures could also face personal sanctions, such as travel bans.
Ministers also faced calls to approve a ‘Magnitsky Law’ which would introduce powers to freeze the assets of Russian officials accused of human rights abuses.
And the UK Government is under pressure to review England’s participation in the World Cup, which is due to be staged in Russia in June.
Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell today called on the Government to back amendments creating a Magnitsky Law in British law.
The measures would stop named Russian oligarchs linked to Mr Putin and suspicious killings travelling to Britain and owning valuable assets here.
Mr Mitchell told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think the Government will be looking very seriously at accepting the amendments that we want to put down at the stage in the Sanctions and Money Laundering Bill which should be coming back to Parliament shortly.
‘It does a number of things. It makes the regime much tougher for human rights violators in terms of not giving them visas, seizing their assets, and confiscation, and so forth.
‘But, it also would make the actions of the Government much more accountable to the public through more parliamentary oversight, through some sort of independent review mechanism.’
Mr Austin is one of a group of MPs from across political parties who want the Government to create a Magnitsky Act in the UK – a law named after a Russian human rights lawyer who was badly beaten and died in police custody after exposing corruption in the country.
The law would stop individuals known to be corrupt or who abuse human rights from travelling to and living in Britain, and politicians backing it say this will help stop London becoming a destination for dodgy Russian money.
Former Labour cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw also spoke out about the growing threat ‘of the terrorist Russia state under President Putin’.
Mr Bradshaw accused the Russian state of ‘money laundering… targeted murders… and interference in our political system’, and said it was time for ministers to ‘take meaningful action to tackle this threat.’
Home Secretary Amber Rudd (right) with Wiltshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Kier Pritchard (centre) and local MP John Glen (left) visit the scene in Salisbury this morning
Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said evidence of a Russian link would have to be met by a package of ‘extremely stiff sanctions’.
He urged ministers to deploy Unexplained Wealth Orders against allies of the Russian President, saying: ‘We need to use the type of laws we use against criminals around the world – why shouldn’t we use the same measures we use against drug runners against this different type of criminal?’
Miss Rudd said ministers are already working on a package of reprisals if the link to Moscow is proved, saying: ‘There will come a time for attribution, and there will be further consequences to follow.’
She added: ‘The use of a nerve agent on UK soil is a brazen and reckless act. This was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. People are right to want to know who to hold to account.
‘But, if we are to be rigorous in this investigation, we must avoid speculation and allow the police to carry on their investigation.’
Sir Christopher Wrey, the former UK ambassador to the US who has worked in Moscow, told Sky News: ‘You could, if this is proven, take advantage of this horrible case and not only expel the ambassador, but drain the swamp of all these guys MI5 are tagging around the streets of London and wherever.’
He added that the UK’s response following the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 which saw four Russian diplomats expelled was ‘probably was too weak’.
Labour’s Yvette Cooper urged Miss Rudd to review 14 deaths in the UK that, according to BuzzFeed, have been linked to Russia by US intelligence agencies.
Miss Cooper, the chairman of the Home Affairs select committee, also suggested the Home Secretary consider going to the UN Security Council and asking for a statement from all nations to provide assistance, including a willingness to extradite suspects.
But the Home Secretary rejected the call, saying: ‘Now is not the time to investigate what is actually only, at the moment, rumour and speculation.
‘Now is the time to focus on the incident at hand and the investigation proceeding.’
We have got to take a much tougher approach. There is a lot of corrupt money being invested in London
A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on what sanctions might be taken against Russia if it was shown to be responsible for the Salisbury attack.
The spokesman said: ‘As both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have said, if a state actor is found to be responsible, there will be an appropriate response.
‘But the investigation by the police and authorities to establish the full facts is ongoing.
‘We will take any necessary actions, but we need to ensure the police have the space to carry out the investigation.’
How the ‘Magnitsky Law’ is named after a Russian lawyer who died after ‘systematic torture campaign’
Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in jail after what supporters claim was a systematic torture campaign
Ministers are facing calls to approve a ‘Magnitsky Law’ to introduce powers to freeze the assets of Russian officials accused of human rights abuses.
The law would stop individuals known to be corrupt or who abuse human rights from travelling to and living in Britain, and politicians backing it say this will help stop London becoming a destination for dodgy Russian money.
Tory former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell is among those set to add amendments to legislation in a bid to beef up Britain’s version of America’s Magnitsky laws.
The sanctions were named to commemorate Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who claimed in 2008 that fraud was being committed by corrupt Interior Ministry officials.
Mr Magnitsky was arrested shortly after, accused of stealing the money himself and died a year later in jail after what supporters claim was a systematic torture campaign.
Mr Mitchell said sanctions need to be widened, and overseen by a review mechanism.