Russian officials involved in corruption and human rights abuses are currently free "to come and go from Britain as they please" and should be targeted by new legislation banning them from the country, MPs and peers have said.

Senior politicians in the Commons and Lords are attempting to introduce laws imposing visa bans on individuals who have been involved in "gross human rights abuses".

Last week David Cameron appeared to back the idea after warning that "we need to think about other ways of hitting the corrupt where it hurts".

Ministers have said a new "Magnitsky Act", akin to those introduced in the US and Canada, is unnecessary because existing laws already allow them to prevent human rights abusers from entering the country - but the former Prime Minister said it was important for Britain to work together with other countries "under a common heading".

The moves are likely to raise tensions between Boris Johnson and Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart as the Foreign Secretary travels to Moscow this week.