Boris Johnson does not back calls for the assassination of Vladimir Putin, but wants to see the Russian president held to account in front of an international court, Downing Street has said.
A No 10 spokesperson said the PM does not agree with US Senator Lindsey Graham, who has called for ‘somebody in Russia’ to assassinate the president in order to bring the invasion of Ukraine to an end.
Mr Johnson thinks Putin and his associates should instead be tried by an international court for the war crimes they have ordered in Ukraine, the spokesperson said.
The comments came as former prime minister Gordon Brown called for the creation of a special tribunal to try those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, modelled on the Nuremburg trials of prominent Nazis after the Second World War.
Sen Graham has sparked controversy in the US by calling for those in the higher echelons of the Russian regime to emulate the killers of Julius Caesar and the high-ranking Germans who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Recommended Ukraine-Russia war news: Zelensky responds to nuclear plant attack Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict explained Sign The Independent’s petition to help the people of Ukraine
“Is there a Brutus in Russia?” he asked. “Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?
“The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country — and the world — a great service.”
Asked whether Mr Johnson would echo the senator’s call, the Downing Street spokesperson said: “No. We stand with the Ukrainian people in demanding the immediate end to the Russian invasion.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 3 March 2022 Commuters wait to get on a bus near Liverpool Street Station as all London Underground lines are suspended after thousands of workers began strike action in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 2 March 2022 Rend Platings and her husband Michael outside their home in Cambridge, which they have painted in the colours of the Ukraine flag in a show of support for friends in the country
PA
UK news in pictures 1 March 2022 Players take part in the Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, which has been played in the town since the 12th century
PA
UK news in pictures 28 February 2022 Donations at the Klub Orla Bialego (White Eagle Club) in Balham, south London, made by members of the public, prior to their aid convoy setting off to Ukraine in aid of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion
PA
UK news in pictures 27 February 2022 People protest in front of the National Gallery in London against Russia’s massive military operation in Ukraine
Reuters
UK news in pictures 26 February 2022 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George in the stands during the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London
PA
UK news in pictures 25 February 2022 People head to St Mary’s Cathedral to light candles after a demonstration outside the Russian Consulate General in Edinburgh, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
PA
UK news in pictures 24 February 2022 People protest against the Russian invasion on Ukraine outside Downing Street in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 23 February 2022 Swimmers from Hampstead Ponds cross the road in their swimming costumes outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, as they await the result of a judicial review brought by Christina Efthimiou over whether the charges for bathing at the ponds in Hampstead Heath unlawfully discriminate against disabled people
PA
UK news in pictures 22 February 2022 Runners line up for the start of The Anshin Security Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at Taunton Racecourse
Getty
UK news in pictures 21 February 2022 Shoes on display at the ROKER AW22 presentation at London Fashion Week, in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 20 February 2022 The waters of the River Severn in edge towards homes in Ironbridge, Shropshire, as more wet and windy weather is set to sweep the UK. Storm Franklin is set to strike the UK just days after Storm Eunice destroyed buildings and left 1.4 million homes without power
PA
UK news in pictures 19 February 2022 Damaged caused to home of Dominic Good, in Stondon Massey, near Brentwood, Essex, after a 400-year-old oak tree in his garden was uprooted by Storm Eunice.
PA
UK news in pictures 17 February 2021 Activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protest against the use of feathers in clothing, ahead of London Fashion Week
Reuters
UK news in pictures 16 February 2022 Waves crashing on the seafront at Blackpool before Storm Dudley hits the north of England
PA
UK news in pictures 15 February 2022 Hailey Duff, left, Vicky Wright, centre and Jennifer Dodds in action for Great Britsin during their women’s curling round robin match against Japan at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Team GB sealed a 10-4 victory
Reuters
UK news in pictures 14 February 2022 Members of the Household Cavalry walk past Wellington Arch and a large inflatable heart, on Valentine's Day in London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 13 February 2022 People in costume attend the Whitby Steampunk Weekend in Yorkshire
PA
UK news in pictures 12 February 2022 People in Parliament Square, London, take part in the People's Assembly nationwide protest about cost of living crisis
PA
UK news in pictures 11 February 2022 Romney sheep graze the grass around the dormant vines at Nyetimber's Manor Vineyard at West Chiltington in West Sussex. The herd from a local farm form part of Nyetimber's sustainability program and are utilised for vineyard maintenance, keeping the grass low, reducing the risk of frost, maintaining grass leys on the estate and saving the cost of fuel for mowing
PA
UK news in pictures 10 February 2022 Alice Wyllie looks at projections featuring details of some of the illustration plates during the press view for Audubon's Birds of America exhibition at the National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 9 February 2022 New arrival Upendi and mother Cheka in the bonobo enclosure at Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire
PA
UK news in pictures 8 February 2022 Workers move a crate containing Season's Greetings by street artist Banksy from a retail unit at Ty'r Orsaf, Port Talbot, prior to its journey to a temporary storage unit at an undisclosed location
PA
UK news in pictures 7 February 2022 Dog walkers enjoy the early morning sunrise at Tynemouth Beach in North Tyneside, on the north east coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 6 February 2022 A Leicester City invades the pitch as Nottingham Forest celebrate scoring their side’s third goal of the game during the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at the City Ground, Nottingham
PA
UK news in pictures 5 February 2022 Stadium staff remove a flare from the pitch during the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at Selhurst Park
PA
UK news in pictures 4 February 2022 "The Nuba Survival" is a five-metre-tall statue of two skeletons locked in an embrace in Checkendon, Oxfordshire. The statue was created by local artist John Buckley
PA
UK news in pictures 3 February 2022 Kew horticulturists attending to the ‘Rising sun’ display at the Kew Orchid Festival: Costa Rica, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, west London
PA
UK news in pictures 2 February 2022 Protesters campaign against corruption in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 1 February 2022 Lorries queue for the Port of Dover in Kent, as the Dover TAP is enforced due to the high volume of lorries waiting to cross the Channel
PA
UK news in pictures 31 January 2022 Nelson Beaumont-Laurencia applies finishing touches to a sculpture of a tiger, commissioned by Manchester Business Improvement District to celebrate the Chinese New Year, is unveiled in St Ann’s Square
PA
UK news in pictures 30 January 2022 A house on Overhill terrace in Gateshead, lost its roof on 29 January after strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK
PA
UK news in pictures 29 January 2022 A newly painted bicycle sign is seen on the middle of the road at Westminster Bridge, as the new Highway Code rules start today together with giving pedestrians priority at junctions
Reuters
UK news in pictures 28 January 2022 School children take part in a rally in support of British Sign Language becoming a recognised language in the UK, outside the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, as the British Sign Language Private Members’ Bill, introduced by Rosie Cooper MP, reaches its second reading in the House
PA
UK news in pictures 27 January 2022 A rare six-week-old southern white rhino calf called Zawadi, explores her paddock for the first time at Africa Alive! in Lowestoft
PA
UK news in pictures 26 January 2022 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jogs with his dog Dilyn, in London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 25 January 2022 A member of staff looks at Francis Bacon’s work ‘Second Version of Triptych 1944’ on display in the Francis Bacon: Man and Beast exhibition at the the Royal Academy of Arts in London
PA
UK news in pictures 24 January 2022 Rowers (front to back) Charlotte Irving, Kat Cordiner and Abby Johnston, on their way to shatter the world record for rowing across the Atlantic
PA
UK news in pictures 23 January 2022 A grey seal pup on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one of the UK’s most important sites for the mammals
PA
UK news in pictures 22 January 2022 Participants prepare to take part in the Crisis icebreaker cold water challenge at Tooting Bec Lido in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast
PA
UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams’ Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a ‘Kill The Bill’ protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London
PA
UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year
PA
UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle
PA
“We have said before that Putin must be held to account before an international court for the horrific acts he has committed.”
Mr Johnson said in the House of Commons on Wednesday that the indiscriminate use of military firepower against civilians in cities including Kharkiv meant that Putin’s acts already amount to war crimes.
Mr Brown joined Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba at an online event organised by the Chatham House think-tank today to call for a special tribunal to try Putin and his accomplices.
Mr Brown said: “Ukraine wants our full support to expose and punish the crime of aggression, and that can be done by setting up a special tribunal on the lines proposed in 1942.
“President Putin has posed a fateful challenge to the post-1945 international order. He has sought to replace the rule of law with a misuse of force... This act of aggression cannot go uninvestigated, unprosecuted or unpunished.”
But Downing Street indicated that the prime minister backs trial at the existing International Criminal Court in The Hague, which today dispatched investigators to Ukraine to start looking into possible war crimes by either side.
The No 10 spokesperson said: “We support them and their work. It is important that Putin and the Russian government are held to account for what they have done.”
The ICC’s top prosecutor Karim Khan said his office would see if there was evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity or acts of genocide.
Asked about reports of artillery strikes in Ukraine’s towns and cities, Khan said: “Any side that targets - directly targets - civilians or civilian objects is committing a crime under the Rome Statute and under international humanitarian law.
This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
(Press Association Images)
“The law of war continues to apply and we have clear jurisdiction. This is a reminder to all factions, to all parties to the conflict, that they must conduct themselves in compliance with the laws of war.”
If war crimes are found to have been committed in Ukraine, Khan said, his office would follow the evidence up the chain of command, to the highest levels of political and military office.
“Anybody involved in conflict needs to realise they don’t have a licence to commit crimes,” he said.
Russia denies targeting civilians and says its aim is to “disarm” Ukraine and arrest leaders it falsely calls neo-Nazis.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which has 123 member states, prosecutes individuals responsible for the worst atrocities when a country is unable or unwilling to do so.
Recommended Macron to run again: key moments in his 5-year term Ukraine war shows need to accelerate shift away from fossil fuels – Harvie What are the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics?
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC. Moscow does not recognise the tribunal, but Ukraine signed a declaration in 2014 giving the court jurisdiction over alleged grave crimes committed on its territory after that date.