Malaysian plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border - live

[David Guyatt]

Sigh.

You really couldn't make this up.

The Anglo-Yanks are really working overtime to degrade Putin as the facts about the downed airliner over Ukraine damage their credulity and credibility (it's not hard to do either, either - if you see what I mean?)

So, now a "new" public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko has been announced by the wally Home Secretary Theresa May - presumably on doers from here even wally-ier Prime Minister David Cameroon.

Presumably this flags Downing Street's intention that a lot more is to come about the evil Russia, as an inquiry takes time to get up and running? On the other hand it could all just be about capturing today's headlines, I suppose? Cameroon is a king of the ploy of hype over substance.

Alexander Litvinenko: public inquiry into spy's death to be announced

Home secretary is expected to say inquiry will take over from inquest in move likely to anger Vladimir Putin

• Press Association
  
• theguardian.com, Tuesday 22 July 2014 08.36 BST
  
• Jump to comments (11)
  

Alexander Litvinenko in hospital in 2006 after he was poisoned with polonium-210. Photograph: Natasja Weitsz/Getty Images

The government will announce on Tuesday that a public inquiry will be held into the death of the poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, it has been reported.
Mystery has surrounded the death of the former KGB officer since he died after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210 with two ex-colleagues at a London hotel in 2006.
But the latest move, which will reportedly be announced by the home secretary, Theresa May, will mean investigators can look into whether the Russian state was behind his murder.
The government has until now resisted launching a public inquiry, and instead said it would "wait and see" what a judge-led inquest found.
But Litvinenko's widow Marina challenged this and the high court ruled the home secretary must reconsider.
The move is likely to anger the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, at a time when relations are strained in the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight in Ukraine.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that May will tell parliament that a public inquiry will take over from the inquest.
Litvinenko, 43, who fled to Britain in 2000, was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 while drinking tea with two Russian men, one a former KGB officer, at the Millennium hotel in Grosvenor Square, central London.
His family believes he was working for MI6 at the time and was killed on the orders of the Kremlin.
The former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun have been identified as the prime suspects, but both deny any involvement and remain in Russia.
Ministers have been under pressure since last year when Sir Robert Owen, who was conducting the inquest, said he could not hold a "fair and fearless" investigation.
A government spokeswoman said: "An announcement in relation to the death of Alexander Litvinenko is due to be made on Tuesday morning. We will provide no further details until an announcement has been made to the House."