Sir Keir Starmer has backed the freedom of the press and accused Russia of resorting to “desperate” threats after its former president said that editors at The Times were “legitimate military targets”.
Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of President Putin and deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, issued a series of threats after a leading article in The Times about the assassination of a senior Russian general.
• The Times view of assassination of a general: Ukraine’s Fight
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died when a bomb was detonated outside his home about five miles from the Kremlin on Tuesday. Ukraine subsequently claimed responsibility. The Times’s article said that Kirillov’s assassination was a “legitimate act of defence by a threatened nation”.
Medvedev said the “entire management