'EVIL' PUTIN WILL ANSWER FORGE WHAT HE DID TO MY HUSBAND

Grant Shapps calls on allies to 'battle against terrible regime

- Tara Fair

THE widow of "murdered" activist Alexei Navalny has called on world leaders to bring down the evil regime of Vladimir Putin.

Outrage erupted around the globe as Russia said its leader's fiercest critic had died yesterday after a "walk" in his Arctic penal colony, following years of persecution and attacks blamed on tyrant Putin.

Yulia Navalnaya, 47, was at a Munich conference as news broke of the death of her husband-seen below with her.

She was given a standing ovation on stage as, tearful but determined, she declared: "I want Putin, his entire entourage, Putin's friends, and his government to know that they will bear responsibility.

"And this day will come very soon. And I want to call on the entire international community, people all over the world, to unite and defeat this evil, to defeat the horrific regime that is now in Russia." World leaders quickly pointed the finger at the Kremlin.

US President Joe Biden said he was "outraged" by the news. He warned the House of Representatives "history is watching" as members prepare to vote on more aid to help Ukraine fight off Russian invaders.

Mr Biden added: "Navalny bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing. In response Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, even all that didn't stop him from calling out Putin's lies." Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said Navalny's death "underscores why we must unite against Russia's terrible regime, which has blood on its hands".