An inquiry will be held into the death of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, the Home Secretary Theresa May has announced.
Mr Litvinenko, a former KGB officer, died in 2006 in a London hospital after he was allegedly poisoned with radioactive polonium.
The investigation will examine whether the Russian state was behind his death.
Mr Litvinenko's widow, Marina, said she was "relieved and delighted", saying the "truth will win out in the end".
Announcing the inquiry - which will be chaired by Sir Robert Owen, a senior judge and the coroner overseeing Mr Litvinenko's inquest - Theresa May said she hoped it would be of "some comfort" to Mrs Litvinenko.
The former Russian spy, 43, died after he was poisoned with radioactive polonium while drinking tea with two Russian men, one a former KGB officer, at a London hotel.
His family believe he was working for MI6 at the time of his death and was killed on the orders of the Kremlin.
'Appalling crime'In a statement, Mrs Litvinenko said: "No matter how strong and powerful you are, truth will win out in the end and you will be held accountable for your crimes.
"I look forward to the day when the truth behind my husband's murder is revealed for the whole world to see," she added.
A government spokesman said his death was "an appalling crime and we want to see those responsible prosecuted through the courts".
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Whitehall sources had told him the timing of the announcement - coming at the same time as the fallout from the Malaysian Airways crash in Ukraine - had been "a coincidence".
Western leaders have accused Russia of arming rebels in eastern Ukraine, who they believe shot down flight MH17 with a ground-to-air missile.
Downing Street has been pushing for tougher sanctions on Russia.
Analysis from BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera
Until now, the government has steadfastly resisted holding a public inquiry.
That was because there are layers of secrets surrounding the death of Alexander Litvinenko. This is thought to include secret intelligence that may relate to whether the Russian state was responsible for his murder.
There are also secrets about Mr Litvinenko's own relationship with MI6. The government demanded all these secrets be kept out of an inquest.
But the former Russian security officer's widow has fought a long legal battle to get to the truth.
A public inquiry will now look at where responsibility lies for the death although it does not look as if it will look at whether his relationship with MI6 means that more should be done to have protected him.
Lawyers for Mrs Litvinenko had claimed that the issue of state responsibility was being closed down precisely to try to improve relations with Russia.
If so, then changing times may explain a government's change of heart. And so we may get one step closer to finding out who was behind a radioactive murder on the streets of London.
The government had previously resisted calls for a public inquiry, saying it would first "wait and see" what a judge-led inquest found.
However, in 2013 a coroner ruled that a public inquiry would be best placed to establish how Mr Litvinenko died.
As the law stands, inquests cannot consider some material relating to national security because of rules preventing its public disclosure.
Unlike an inquest, a public inquiry would be able to consider sensitive evidence in a closed hearing - a hearing that is not held in public.
Ministers still refused to launch an inquiry, which prompted a legal challenge by Mr Litvinenko's widow, Marina.
She said only a public inquiry would uncover the Russian state's alleged role in her husband's 2006 death from radiation poisoning.
In February, the High Court said the Home Office had been wrong to rule out an inquiry before the outcome of an inquest.
The Litvinenko case
- 1 Nov 2006 - Alexander Litvinenko has tea with former agents Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun in London
- 4 Nov 2006 - After three days of vomiting he is admitted to hospital, and dies 22 days later. His death is attributed to radiation poisoning
- May 2007 - The UK decides Mr Lugovoi should be charged with the murder of Mr Litvinenko. He denies any involvement but says Mr Litvinenko was a British spy
- 5 Jul 2007 - Russia officially refuses to extradite Mr Lugovoi, prompting a diplomatic row
- 20 Sept 2012 - Pre-inquest review hears that Russia's links to the death will be probed
- May-June 2013 - Inquest into Mr Litvinenko's death delayed as coroner decides a public inquiry would be preferable
- Jan 2014 - Marina Litvinenko in High Court fight to force a public inquiry
- 11 Feb 2014 - High Court says the Home Office had been wrong to rule out an inquiry before the outcome of an inquest
Who was Alexander Litvinenko?
Sir Richard Ottaway, chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, said the timing of the announcement was "a bit quirky" given the international situation following the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash in Ukraine.
But the Conservative MP said launching an inquiry was "absolutely the right thing to do".
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