News: Families of #MH17 victims prepare to sue Vladimir Putin: Claim he was involved in the shooting

Grieving relatives of the victims of MH17 plane atrocity are preparing to sue Vladimir Putin over allegations he was involved.

Lawyers from Britain are in talks with Ukrainian partners over how it would file legal action on behalf of the victims after the passenger jet was shot down by pro-Russian separatists over eastern Ukraine.

The potential multi-million-pound lawsuit is likely to further damage relations between Russia and the West and comes as Malaysian Airlines announced it would be rebranding its company.

London law firm McCue & Partners, which has previously brought claims against former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has taken on the case which is likely to be put through the US courts.

A spokesman from the company, which is inviting families to take part in the action, said in a statement to the Sunday Telegraph: ‘There has been talk of civil suits against Malaysia Airlines, but those immediately responsible are not only the separatists who are alleged to have fired the rocket at Flight MH17, causing the death of hundreds of innocent victims, but those, be they states, individuals or other entities, who provided them with financial and material support and the means to do so.

‘Our team is presently liaising and working with partners in Ukraine and the US on whether, apart from civil suits against the airline, legal action can be brought against the perpetrators on the victims' behalf.’

A team of four Australians and four Dutch investigators have already touched down in the city of Donetsk, close to where the plane came down, while talks have been held over plans to despatch an international police force and military to secure the crash site.

It is thought that Russian-backed rebels shot down the Boeing 777 after mistaking it for a Ukrainian military aircraft.

There is evidence that the plane, which was carrying 298 people including 10 Britons, was brought down by a Russian-made SA-11 missile.

Malaysia Airlines revealed today is looking at a number of options to restructure its business, which could include changing its name.

It is also considering new routes and expanding out-sourcing to increase profitability.

The move follows the most recent disaster in Ukraine on July 17 and the disappearance of MH370 on March 8, which went missing with all 239 passengers and crew on board.

Meanwhile, it was reported today that unreleased data from the MH17's black box show findings consistent with the plane's fuselage being hit multiple times by shrapnel from a missile explosion.

Human remains lay exposed at the crash site for several days before they were collected and bodies returned to families.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has joined calls for Russia to be stripped of its right to host the 2018 World Cup.

He said it was 'unthinkable' at present that the tournament could go ahead in the country blamed by the West for supplying arms to separatist rebels accused of causing the crash.