Alexander Litvinenko’s widow, who lived with the former spy in Muswell Hill, has called on David Cameron to impose sanctions on Vladimir Putin.

Ham & High: LitvinenkoLitvinenko (Image: Archant)

Marina Litvinenko, who lived with her husband in Osier Crescent, said she wanted to see the immediate expulsion of all Russian intelligence operatives based at the London embassy.

Former KGB agent Mr Litvinenko died in November 2006 aged 43 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium in a London hotel.

A public inquiry led by Sir Robert Owen found Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved the assassination of the Russian dissident, who claimed asylum in the UK in 2000.

Mrs Litvinenko said: “I’m of course very pleased that the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin of his murder have been proved true in an English court with the high standards of independence and fairness.”

Ham & High: The former Russian spy on his wedding day with his wife Marina in Moscow on October 14, 1994(Picture: PA Images)The former Russian spy on his wedding day with his wife Marina in Moscow on October 14, 1994(Picture: PA Images) (Image: PA Archive/Press Association Images)

And she continued: “But now it is time for David Cameron. I’m calling immediately for the expulsion from the UK of all Russian intelligence operatives ... based in the London embassy.

“I am also calling for the imposition of targeted economic sanctions and travel bans against named individuals including Mr Patrushev (former FSB chief Nikolai) and Mr Putin.”

Mr Litvinenko made a statement two days before his death in November 2006 naming Mr Putin as the person responsible for his death.

The Litvinenko inquiry has been condemned by Russia as a political “whitewash” engineered to “slander” the country which would further “darken” already-frosty relations.

Moscow dismissed the finding that Valdimir Putin probably authorised the dissident’s murder by the state security service as a “gross provocation” connected to deep disputes over Ukraine and other issues.

And the two agents identified in the report as the killers said it was “crazy” and discredited the British justice system.

It represents a fresh blow to diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were plunged into the deep freeze by the 2006 killing in London.