Vladimir Putin is intent on “undoing the good” of Mikhail Gorbachev and attempting to “recreate that Soviet empire”, Boris Johnson has said.
The prime minister paid tribute to the former Soviet Union leader, who has died at the age of 91, describing him as “one of those people who changed the world and unquestionably changed it for the better”.
Mr Johnson said: “When you look at what he did to make Europe whole, free, to give freedom to the countries of the former Soviet Union – it was quite an extraordinary thing.”
He added: “Maybe he paid his own political price for it but when history is written, he will be, I think, one of the authors of fantastic change for the better in the world.”
The PM said Gorbachev – who brought in major reforms and helped open up the Soviet Union to the world in the late 1980s – would have found Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “absolutely unthinkable”.
“What I worry about today is that the current leadership in Moscow is intent on undoing the good of Mikhail Gorbachev, and is intent on a revanchist attempt, a revenge driven attempt, to recreate that Soviet empire,” said Mr Johnson.
“You’re seeing that in Ukraine – that’s the tragedy, something that Mikhail Gorbachev would have thought was absolutely unthinkable, unwarranted.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Gorbachev was “one of the great figures of the 20th century,”, adding: “He will forever be remembered as the last leader of the Soviet Union who had the courage and conviction to end the Cold War.”
Liz Truss, the foreign secretary and Tory leadership favourite, paid tribute to a “remarkable statesman” and said Gorbachev’s “legacy of cooperation and peace must prevail”.
And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Gorbachev had “brought hope to millions”, adding: “His legacy of peace and openness stands in stark contrast to Putin’s regime.”
It comes as Johnson spends his final few days in charge at No 10 highlighting his record since becoming prime minister, having refused on Tuesday to rule out a comeback.
The PM said on Wednesday that Britain is “absolutely not” broken at the end of his premiership – claiming that “this country has got an incredible future and has everything going for it”.
“Look at the place that people want to invest in,” he said. “Which is the country that attracts more venture capital investment now than China? It’s the United Kingdom … Why do people want to come here? Because it is the place to be.”
Mr Johnson added: “What we’re doing now, and what I’m proud that we’ve done over the last three years or so, is put in a lot of things that will make this country fit for the future.”
On Wednesday he defended his government’s track record on tackling crime, as he attended a raid with specialist officers near Lewisham, south London, where he spoke to staff from one of the 20 so-called ‘violence reduction units’.
Speaking outside a police station in Lewisham, Mr Johnson pointed to figures showing that neighbourhood crime is down 38 per cent on 2019. “I think that’s a massive achievement.”
But a new report has urged the government to bring in major reforms to address “failing” police forces – highlighting “woefully low” rates of burglaries, robbery and theft being solved.
The centre-right think tank Policy Exchange said policing in the UK had “lost its way”, saying the police was not properly equipped to deal with online offences.
“British policing simply does not have the capability or the capacity to tackle online-based criminality,” said report author, former detective chief inspector David Spencer. “As a result, these offences are in essence almost entirely decriminalised.”
