Diplomatically, one of the impacts of the air strikes will be on the further deterioration of the relationship between Moscow and the West. The arguments over what happened in Douma a week ago and the threats of retaliation by Russia mean that maybe President Trump wasn’t exaggerating when he tweeted that the US relationship with…
The Russian embassy has accused British officials of “isolating” Yulia Skripal, the daughter of the former spy who was targeted in the Salisbury poison gas attack, and “concealing important evidence”. The 33-year-old Russian national was discharged from hospital last night and taken to what’s described as a “secure location”. Medical staff said she had asked…
The Russian embassy in London has called for a meeting with the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the Salisbury poison attack – claiming its dealings with the UK had been “utterly unsatisfactory”. The Foreign Office hit back, saying it was Russia’s response that had been unsatisfactory – accusing them of failing to answer numerous questions…
The head of Porton Down, the government’s military research facility, appears to have contradicted claims by the foreign secretary over the poisoning of a former spy, Sergei Skripal. Boris Johnson seemingly confirmed that scientists had “no doubt” that the nerve agent used was made in Russia. But Porton Down now says it has “not identified the precise source”.
When a former Russian spy and his daughter were found slumped on a park bench in Salisbury, it wasn’t long before investigators started looking at the Kremlin with suspicion. But how strong is the UK’s evidence against Russia? And what do the experts think?
President Trump said that – when the UK reaches a conclusion about the attack on Sergei Skripal – he would “certainly take that finding as fact”. He promised to “condemn Russia or whoever it may be” who’s responsible. But now that Theresa May has said Russia was “culpable for the attempted murder,” has Trump stuck to his word?
Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the death of a man in south-west London who was reportedly a Russian businessman. Scotland Yard said the cause of his death is unexplained, though there is no evidence to suggest a link to the incident in Salisbury.
Tonight, President Trump, in a phone call to Theresa May, said he agreed that the Russian government must provide unambiguous answers as to how the nerve agent came to be used in the Salisbury attack. Russia has dismissed claims of involvement as “rubbish”. The government’s emergencies committee, COBRA, met again as police said their investigation is…
Marina Litvinenko is the widow of another former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London after he was poisoned with polonium in 2006.
Paul McNamara in Salisbury has the latest on the investigation.
Gary Gibbon has the latest from Westminster.
The day began in Salisbury with further searches in more crime scenes, but by mid-afternoon the drama over the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter had gone from local to global. In the Commons, Theresa May accused Moscow of “an indiscriminate and reckless act against the United Kingdom”, giving the Kremlin until…
Gary Gibbon
Theresa May has gone to the top end of the diplomatic lexicon to condemn the attack on a Russian spy and his daughter. The Prime Minister said it constituted an “unlawful use of force” and “more extensive measures” would follow. The Russian government has been given until tomorrow night to explain how a nerve agent…
A week after the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Salisbury, hundreds of people who went to the city’s Zizzi restaurant or the Mill pub have been told to wash their clothes and possessions. The risk is very low, but some members of the public want to know why the advice wasn’t issued earlier.
The Home Secretary has given more details about the investigation into the attempted murder of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter – revealing that police are looking at more than 240 pieces of evidence. Following an emergency Cobra meeting on the suspected nerve agent attack in Salisbury, Amber Rudd said over 200 witnesses have been identified.
