Former head of MI6 claims Navalny’s death has made Putin ‘weaker’

The death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny will make Vladimir Putin “weaker in the long term”, a former MI6 boss has said.

Christopher Steele, former head of MI6’s Russia desk, assessed the strength of the Russian president when he appeared on ITV’s Peston show on Wednesday (21 February).

When asked if Putin is stronger or weaker now than at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr Steele said: “He’s possibly stronger in the short-term, I think in the longer-term, weaker.

“I just don’t see how, within the international community for example, that anyone can now argue they should do a deal with Putin.”