Queen Elizabeth II must remain “strictly neutral with respect to political matters” and is “unable to vote or stand for election”, according to the Royal Family website. But Her Majesty once broke with royal protocol when she took a sly dig at the Russian President during a 2003 visit, which was the first state visit to Britain by a Russian leader in more than 125 years.

The Queen said ‘dogs have interesting instincts, don’t they?’

Lord Patten

David Blunkett, who was the Home Secretary at the time, revealed exactly what happened when his guide dog reacted defensively to the Russian President. 

Speaking on BBC’s Any Questions, Lord Blunkett said: “The only time I met Vladimir Putin was back in 2003 on an official visit and my then dog barked very loudly.

“I did apologise to the Queen who was obviously hosting. I don’t think I am giving anything away when I said ‘sorry your Majesty about the dog barking’. She said ‘dogs have interesting instincts, don’t they?’.”

Also on the panel was Conservative peer Lord Patten who stood as European Commissioner in the early 2000s.

Lord Patten described Mr Putin as “probably the nastiest man I have ever met”.

He added: “I met him on a number of different occasions probably a dozen when I was a Europe Commissioner. He is a killer.

“It is always said about him that you can take the man out of the KGB but you can’t take the KGB out of the man.”

President Putin ruffled features this week at the G20 summit by proclaiming liberalism to obsolete.

Mr Putin took aim at “elites” whom he accused of “doing nothing” to solve the world’s problems, as he also praised US President Donald Trump in a wide-ranging interview in the Financial Times prior to leaving for the summit, in Osaka.

He said: “The ruling elites have broken away from the people.

“The obvious problem is the gap between the interests of the elites and the overwhelming majority of the people. Of course, we must always bear this in mind.

“One of the things we must do in Russia is never to forget that the purpose of the operation and existence of any government is to create a stable, normal, safe and predictable life for the people and to work towards a better future.”

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Mr Putin claimed the “so-called liberal idea” had “outlived its purpose.

He added: “Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable.

“When the migration problem came to a head, many people admitted that the policy of multiculturalism is not effective and that the interests of the core population should be considered.

“Although those who have run into difficulties because of political problems in their home countries need our assistance as well.”

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