A Labour peer has called for a parliamentary investigation into the deaths of Russian-linked individuals on British soil, following a lengthy investigation by BuzzFeed News that found the UK government may be hiding information involving potential Kremlin-ordered assassinations.



Lord Rooker told the House of Lords he had been shocked by the revelations and urged his fellow politicians to go to BuzzFeed News and read the reports, which name 14 individuals who were killed in Britain in unusual circumstances.

"In all but one case, the police have found the deaths to be non-suspicious," the peer said. "They have been classified as due to natural causes, accidents, or suicide. One of them is subject to a current inquest in London, during which the government have withheld information and refused to cooperate with the French police regarding a French connection to the death. One case involves a suicide decision, as a result of the person stabbing themselves to death with two separate knives."

"What do ministers say about these reports, which have been very negatively received on the other side of the Atlantic?" he asked. "Quite clearly, some members of our population have not been kept safe."



He added: "I believe that there is a strong case for the relevant House of Commons committees to start examining these reports and to start asking some very searching questions."

Rooker made the intervention during a debate on the Queen's Speech, the flagship parliamentary occasion which sets out the government's priorities for the coming years. He pointed out that the speech offered "words of comfort" on keeping the population safe and safeguarding national security that were undermined by the BuzzFeed News report.