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Russia killed Alexei Navalny with dart frog poison, UK and allies say

February 14, 2026 at 15:31

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison in Russia after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs, the UK and other allies have revealed.

The "barbaric" act - using a neurotoxin that is classed as a chemical weapon - could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin's government, they said on Saturday.

The poisoning "highly likely" resulted in Mr Navalny's death in 2024.

Sky News understands it is likely the toxin was manufactured in a laboratory rather than actually taken from the frogs

It is not clear how the frog poison - called epibatidine - was allegedly administered to the dissident, who had been in a penal colony in Siberia when he died almost exactly two years ago.

Indigenous tribes in South America are said to use the toxin in blow darts or blowguns when they hunt.

The poison - described as "one of the deadliest on earth" - is 200 times stronger than morphine. It causes paralysis, breathing difficulties and death.

Yulia Navalnaya, the Russian dissident's widow, appeared at a press conference on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich to announce the discovery, flanked by the foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The four countries and France have been working together to establish how Mr Navalny, 47, died.

They plan to submit their findings to the international chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

"It is hard for me to find the right words," Mrs Navalnya said in English, looking visibly upset.

She had been at the Munich Security Conference when the news of her husband's death broke on 16 February 2024.

"It was the most horrible day in my life. I came to the stage and I said my husband, Alexei Navalny, was poisoned. What could else happen with Putin's number one enemy in a Russian prison?

"But now I understand and I know it is not just words. It is scientific proof."

Russian authorities have previously claimed the dissident's death was not suspicious but had been caused as a result of "combined diseases", including an irregular heartbeat.

But Yvette Cooper, the British foreign secretary, said the UK and its allies had been working "with fierce determination" to establish what really happened.

It is understood that British scientists at Porton Down played a key role in the discovery of the frog poison scheme.

It was not immediately clear how they were able to obtain samples from Mr Navalny's body to test for the toxin, though Ms Navalnaya has previously said they were smuggled out of Russia.

The opposition leader was buried in the suburbs of Moscow in March 2024.

"As a result of the work of the UK, Sweden and other partners, we have confirmed that a deadly toxin was found in Alexei Navalny's body," Ms Cooper told journalists,

"And that toxin has been identified as a toxin that is found in Ecuadorian Dart Frogs."

She said: "Only the Russian government had the means, the motive and the opportunity to use that toxin against Alexei Navalny in prison and that is why we are here today to shine a spotlight on the Kremlin's barbaric attempt to silence Alexei Navalny's voice.

"To show that the Russian government has contempt for its citizens and the willingness to use this deadly toxin."

The top British diplomat also quoted Mr Navalny himself about the need to hold the Russian government to account.

"He said: 'We must do what they fear, tell the truth, spread the truth that is the most powerful weapon'."

Ms Navalnaya shared details about the effect of being poisoned dart frog toxin.

"My husband, Alexei Navalny, was poisoned with epibatidine - a neurotoxin, one of the deadliest poisons on earth," she said in a post of social media.

"In nature, this poison can be found on the skin of the Ecuadorian dart frog. It causes paralysis, respiratory arrest, and a painful death."

Sweden's foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, explained why it was necessary to understand the true cause of Mr Navalny's death.

"This is extremely important in order to be able to hold Russia accountable for what they have been doing and to continue to shine a light on their continuous lies," he said.

"We will now move forward with this information to the OPCW... This is yet another way to increase the pressure on Russia."

The Kremlin has yet to respond to the allegation.

President Putin's government has already been accused of previously trying to kill Mr Navalny in 2020 using a Novichok nerve agent - the same chemical weapon that Russia is believed to have deployed on the streets of Salisbury in a failed attempt to kill a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in 2018.

Mr Navalny survived the original poisoning and recuperated in Germany before returning home to Russia, where he was arrested and jailed.

The science behind the frog poison that allegedly killed Alexei Navalny

February 14, 2026 at 16:37

The Russian state has long been accused of using exotic poisons to murder its opponents - whether the nerve agent Novichok or radioactive plutonium isotopes. Could Alexei Navalny have been killed by the toxin of a poisonous frog?

"I can imagine that these kinds of poisons are interesting [to Russia] because they are quite difficult to detect," says Dr Eric Franssen, doctor in clinical toxicology and pharmacology at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis hospital in the Netherlands.

Dr Franssen said: "Because in hospitals, we will not detect them in a routine toxicology screen. So perhaps this is a way to disguise intoxications."

The UK and its allies say the toxin was derived from an Ecuadorian dart frog. These are produced naturally to ward off predators.

Sky News understands it is likely the toxin was manufactured in a laboratory rather than actually taken from the frogs. In humans, the effects are deadly.

Dr Franssen added: "We do not know very much of these toxins in humans because you cannot experiment, of course, with this kind of toxins in real life, only in animals.

"But there have been reports that people may die after 10 to 20 minutes of intake of this when you have a certain amount of these toxins."

"This can be done by ingestion or injection in the bloodstream. I suppose then it has a direct effect on the muscles and the heart.

"And it paralyses the muscles, also your respiratory muscles. And then you become very low in your oxygen in blood. And also by cardiac failure, your brain does not receive any oxygen anymore and this may cause death."

"Nausea and vomiting are side effects of these kinds of toxins."

Dr Franssen's description tallies with photos, published by Navalny's foundation, of the prison cell where he was taken ill: vomit is clearly visible.

Navalny was a political dissident who challenged Putin. He survived being poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent.

When he returned to Russia in 2021, he was imprisoned and convicted on trumped-up charges.

In December 2023 Navalny was transferred from a prison outside Moscow to a penal colony in Russia's Far North, in Kharp: the Polar Wolf colony, known for its brutal conditions, capable of holding around 1,000 prisoners.

Despite those conditions, Navalny seemed in good health - and good spirits - in a court appearance on 15 February, 2025, before his death.

Navalny died the next day.

The initial Russian explanation was that he lost consciousness after a walk.

His body was only returned to his family eight days after his death.

And the official state post mortem concluded the official cause of death was high blood pressure brought about by a chronic abnormal heart rhythm.

In September last year, Navany's widow, Yulia Navalniya, made a dramatic revelation. She posted on social media: "In February 2024 we were able to obtain samples of Alexei's biological material and securely smuggle them abroad. Labs in at least two countries examined these samples independently of each other and these labs in 2 diff countries reached the same conclusion Alexei was killed, more specifically he was poisoned."

Dr Franssen said this sort of testing was feasible.

He said: "Normally, when people die, you may have autopsies, then you cool the body because you do not want that the toxins degrade in the human body after death [in order to] detect them. So it may be possible to measure toxin levels in tissue.

"That can be the lung, that can be the heart, it can be blood and urine also. But it can also be possible to detect not the native drugs but also the metabolites of these toxins. So these can stay longer in the body."

That lab work has now been revealed by Britain and its allies.

Russian authorities insist Navalny's death was natural.

Demi Edmunds: 'Funny, kind and caring' teenager killed in three-car collision in Cwmbran, South Wales

February 14, 2026 at 18:57

A teenage girl who died in a three-car collision in South Wales was "funny, kind and caring", her brother has said.

Demi Edmunds, 17, died at the scene of the crash on the A4042 in Cwmbran, Monmouthshire, at around 12.25pm on Thursday, Gwent Police said.

The teenager from nearby Caldicot, was the only pedestrian involved in the incident.

Her brother, Jake, said in a tribute published by Gwent Police that she was "the best sister I could've ever asked for. She was funny, kind and caring.

"Me and her were very close, she was like a best friend to me that I could trust with anything and everything, but she's no longer with us any more.

"Hopefully she's in heaven, somewhere better."

The girl's family, who police said have asked for privacy, said in a shared statement that Demi was "a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin and niece.

"Demi loved her friends, and she was loved by all", they said, describing her as "once met, never forgotten".

Detectives have appealed for the public's help, including anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of the incident.

Abdul Halim Khan: Former east London imam guilty of child sexual abuse after claiming he had 'supernatural powers'

February 14, 2026 at 20:42

A former imam who coerced his victims, some as young as 12, into believing he had supernatural powers, has been found guilty of 21 sexual offences, including nine counts of rape.

Abdul Halim Khan, 54, of Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, in east London, used his position as a respected faith leader to abuse multiple women and girls between 2004 and 2015, the Metropolitan Police said.

He was convicted of nine counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, five counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.

Khan persuaded victims to meet him at isolated spots, including flats and quiet, hidden locations, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He would then rape or sexually abuse them, saying he would be possessed or disguised as a jinn, or supernatural spirit, the CPS added.

Victims felt they had to keep these acts hidden and quiet from families and friends, or they may be harmed by "black magic", the CPS said.

His offending came to police attention in 2018 when the youngest victim reported him to a teacher at her school, the force said.

When questioned, Khan repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them a conspiracy and saying the victims had made them up for revenge, police said.

Khan was eventually charged in March 2023.

A survivor of his abuse, speaking after the verdict, said what she suffered as a child "has had a profound and lasting impact".

She said she still carried the trauma with her, having "lived with shame, fear and confusion that were not mine to carry. The loss of trust, in people, in systems, and at times in myself, shaped much of my adult life.

"I hope this outcome acknowledges not only the abuse itself, but the deep and lasting harm it causes.

Detective Sergeant Sara Yems, who led the investigation, said the seven women who came forward showed "extraordinary courage", adding she hoped that Khan's conviction would "offer a small measure of comfort".

Melissa Garner, specialist prosecutor for the CPS, said Khan "abused his position of trust and authority to carry out a vicious series of rapes and sexual abuses against seven victims, including three vulnerable teenage girls."

She added: "Khan coerced and deceived them into thinking that he possessed supernatural powers which could protect them and their families from harm in exchange for hideous acts of sexual abuse without their consent".

Khan will be sentenced next month.

Britain will deploy warships to the Arctic, Starmer tells Munich Security Conference

February 14, 2026 at 14:18

The UK will deploy a carrier strike group of warships to the Arctic this year, Keir Starmer has announced.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, the prime minister announced the move would be a demonstration of Britain's commitment to its allies.

He said: "I can announce today that the UK will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security."

It comes following US President Donald Trump's assertion earlier this year that he wants to take over Greenland.

Mr Trump has claimed he does not believe Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, does enough to defend it from threats from Russia and China.

The US later walked back from the threats - but the geopolitical climate still looks increasingly precarious.

Russia is continuing to battle it out in Ukraine - a move the prime minister claimed was a "huge strategic blunder".

And he pledged his commitment to Article 5, one of NATO's founding principles.

It spells out that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Sir Keir said: "So I say to all NATO members, our commitment to Article 5 is as profound now as ever, and be in no doubt, if called on, the UK would come to your aid today."

If the article were to be triggered, it could mean thousands of Brits sent to the frontline.

But Sir Keir said we "must be ready to fight" and do whatever "it takes to protect our people, our values and our way of life".

"As Europe, we must stand on our own two feet," he added.

"That means being bolder, it means putting away petty politics and short-term concerns. It means acting together to build a stronger Europe and a more European NATO."

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