Tycoons bringing explosive politics to London

Some are billionaires, some are less wealthy dissidents, but all have brought their home countries' explosive politics to the capital.

They have helped lead a transformation of London's economy. Among the oligarchs who shuttle between Heathrow and Russia, our capital is now known as Moscow2. Some are close to the Kremlin regime, many cannot return home. It was no surprise that Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky - the self-proclaimed "kingmaker" of Vladimir Putin now a thorn in the president's side - was the man who today told news agencies of the death of his friend.

Berezovsky made his money in the Nineties by acquiring lucrative stakes in Russian oil, car and media industries. But he was cast out by the president amid an acrimonious row over his business interests.

Afraid of being jailed by the Kremlin, Berezovsky won political sanctuary in the UK, where he now lives, in Surrey, with his fourth wife.

He is at the centre of a group of dissidents who have provoked Mr Putin's wrath. Apart from Mr Berezovsky, the key players include Alex Goldfarb who was a close friend of former spy Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko's widow Marina continues to play an active part in the group. Another key dissident is Akhmed Zakayev, an actor who became Chechnya's minister of culture. He was granted asylum by Britain in 2003.

Gordievsky, the most senior KGB spy to defect to Britain, was also a friend of Litvinenko.