LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Friday they were gathering evidence after receiving about 50 reports of alleged war crimes following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

       London's Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team said its specialist detectives were assessing some 50 referrals made since the start of the conflict as part of action in support of an International Criminal Court investigation.

       "We’ve had around 50 referrals into us and we expect that number to grow over the coming weeks as more and more people who fled from Ukraine arrive here in the UK," said Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy from London police's Counter Terrorism Command.

       The United States and European countries, including Britain, have accused Russian forces of war crimes since the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

       Russia, which says it has launched a "special military operation" to "denazify" Ukraine, has rejected the allegations, accusing the West of faking evidence to smear its army.

       (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by James Davey)