Britain says former Russian spy poisoned with nerve agent

[webfact]

Britain says former Russian spy poisoned with nerve agent

By Toby Melville

 

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel of Russia's GRU military intelligence service, looks on inside the defendants' cage as he attends a hearing at the Moscow military district court, Russia August 9, 2006. Kommersant/Yuri Senatorov via REUTERS

 

SALISBURY, England (Reuters) - A nerve agent was used to deliberately poison a former Russian double agent and his daughter, Britain's top counter-terrorism officer said on Wednesday, in a case that threatens to further damage London's ties with Moscow.

 

Sergei Skripal, once a colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence service, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, were found slumped unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in the southern English city of Salisbury on Sunday afternoon.

 

Both remain critically ill and a police officer who attended the scene is also in a serious condition in hospital.

 

"This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent," London Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters. "I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically."

 

Rowley said government scientists had identified the specific nerve agent but he would not say what it was because it was part of the investigation. He also declined to give any details about how it was administered to Skripal, 66, and his daughter.

 

England's chief medical officer said the incident posed a low risk to the wider public but anyone feeling unwell was advised to seek medical advice.

 

While Rowley would not say any more about the investigation, a U.S. security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the main line of police inquiry was that Russians may have used the substance against Skripal in revenge for his treachery.

 

Skripal betrayed dozens of Russian agents to British intelligence before his arrest by Russian authorities in 2004.

 

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006 after a secret trial and in 2010 was given refuge in Britain after being exchanged for Russian spies caught in the West as part of a Cold War-style spy swap at Vienna airport.

 

On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said if Moscow were behind the incident then Britain could look again at sanctions and take other measures to punish Russia, which he cast as a "malign and disruptive" state.

 

Russia denied any involvement, scolded Johnson for "wild" comments and said anti-Russian hysteria was being whipped up intentionally to damage relations with London.

 

"It's very hard not to assess this (speculation) as provocative black PR designed to complicate relations between our two countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday.

 

"NEED TO DETER RUSSIA"

 

Malcolm Sperrin, a professor at the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, said nerve agents could cause heart failure, respiratory arrest, twitching or spasms.

 

"I’m not aware of a nerve agent having been used in this way previously," he said.

 

Britain has specifically drawn parallels with the 2006 murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko who was killed with the radioactive polonium-210 in London.

 

A previous British inquiry said Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved the murder of Litvinenko, who died after drinking green tea laced with the rare and very potent radioactive isotope at London's Millennium Hotel.

 

Russia denied involvement in the death of Litvinenko, which the British inquiry said had been hatched by the Federal Security Service (FSB), main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

 

Litvinenko's murder sent Britain's ties with Russia to what was then a post-Cold War low. Relations suffered further from Russia's annexation of Crimea and its military backing for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

 

Former British defence minister Michael Fallon called for a stronger response if it turned out that Russia had been involved in the Skripal affair.

 

"We’ve got to respond more effectively than we did last time over Litvinenko. Our response then clearly wasn’t strong enough," Fallon told Reuters. "We need to deter Russia from believing they can get away with attacks like this on our streets if it’s proved."

 

The British capital has been dubbed "Londongrad" due to the large quantities of Russian money which have poured in since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. It is the Western city of choice for many oligarchs from the former Soviet Union.

 

BIG OPERATION

 

Rowley said hundreds of detectives were now working on the Skripal case to build up a timeline of his movements over the last few days.

 

Officers have sealed off the area of Salisbury where Skripal was found as well as the Zizzi pizza restaurant where they dined and the Bishop's Mill pub where they had a drink. They also set up cordons near Solstice Park, a business park, in the nearby town of Amesbury.

 

Skripal's son, Alexander, died last year aged 43. British media have said his death occurred during a visit to St Petersburg, Putin's home town. Skripal's wife Liudmila died of cancer in 2012.

 

Both Alexander and Liudmila Skripal are buried at the London Road Cemetery in Salisbury.

 

The Skripal case has come shortly before Russia's presidential election on March 18, which Putin is expected to win comfortably, extending his rule by a further six years. The former KGB officer has been president since 2000.

 

(Additonal reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Kate Kelland, Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden; Editing by Gareth Jones)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-08

[FreddieRoyle]

A chef at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where the Russian spy and his daughter were eating just before the incident said: “He was very angry and being very rude. He was smartly dressed and had a thick Russian accent but he was behaving like an a******e.”

“He was waving his hands and banging the table. She barely said a word.”

 

 Which concurs with my experiences with customers from that part of the world. I am still not convinced it was a state sponsored assassination. When people chose to behave like complete morons in public many people can wish them harm. England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

[Jack Mountain]

Coincidence of course: That stuff is made a few miles away of the attack. LMAO

 

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/the-elephant-in-the-room/

[buick]

it sounds like the british need to provide a name change for these type of folk so they have a chance at avoiding retribution. 

[impulse]

Could have just as easily been the US or British intelligence people in a black flag operation to blame the Russkies, and specifically, Putin. 

 

Maybe we'll know in 50 years when they declassify those documents.

 

[StraightTalk]

2 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

England is not THAT special as this surely applies to all regions of the rest of the world as well!

[StraightTalk]

57 minutes ago, impulse said:

Could have just as easily been the US or British intelligence people in a black flag operation to blame the Russkies, and specifically, Putin. 

 

Maybe we'll know in 50 years when they declassify those documents.

 

One would not expect anything less, after all he's a known spy...

(007 would've acted in the same way).

[edwinchester]

2 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

A chef at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where the Russian spy and his daughter were eating just before the incident said: “He was very angry and being very rude. He was smartly dressed and had a thick Russian accent but he was behaving like an a******e.”

“He was waving his hands and banging the table. She barely said a word.”

 

 Which concurs with my experiences with customers from that part of the world. I am still not convinced it was a state sponsored assassination. When people chose to behave like complete morons in public many people can wish them harm. England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

Most likely state sponsored if the use of a nerve agent is true. Look at his past and who would want to get even and who has access to this type of weapon.

[joecoolfrog]

3 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

A chef at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where the Russian spy and his daughter were eating just before the incident said: “He was very angry and being very rude. He was smartly dressed and had a thick Russian accent but he was behaving like an a******e.”

“He was waving his hands and banging the table. She barely said a word.”

 

 Which concurs with my experiences with customers from that part of the world. I am still not convinced it was a state sponsored assassination. When people chose to behave like complete morons in public many people can wish them harm. England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

So true , I live in a sleepy village but always have a supply of nerve agent to hand in case somebody annoys me !

[Jack Mountain]

3 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

A chef at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where the Russian spy and his daughter were eating just before the incident said: “He was very angry and being very rude. He was smartly dressed and had a thick Russian accent but he was behaving like an a******e.”

“He was waving his hands and banging the table. She barely said a word.”

 

 Which concurs with my experiences with customers from that part of the world. I am still not convinced it was a state sponsored assassination. When people chose to behave like complete morons in public many people can wish them harm. England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

Interesting! As a Sherlock pretender i would suggest could it be the daughter then who made the attack and attacked also herself (maybe even willingly) in the process. But from where got she the stuff? Btw. who determined that it was 'VX''  gas???? Maybe it was just rat poison. Nah that goes too far. questions, questions.

[StraightTalk]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Rowley said hundreds of detectives were now working on the Skripal case to build up a timeline of his movements over the last few days.

What are they trying to prove? He  worked as a double agent for the UK intelligence agency MI6 and was jailed in Russia in 2006 for spying for Britain, having passed on the names of undercover Russian intelligence agents.

His job description surely outlined the perils for being a spy especially when ratting a fellow colleague.

[Jack Mountain]

6 minutes ago, SouthernDelight said:

What are they trying to prove? He  worked as a double agent for the UK intelligence agency MI6 and was jailed in Russia in 2006 for spying for Britain, having passed on the names of undercover Russian intelligence agents.

His job description surely outlined the perils for being a spy especially when ratting a fellow colleague.

They want to determine who deserves the prize money and maybe even a 'Sir' title.

[samran]

I’m so relieved that the Dads Army crew is onto this one. Clearly they aren’t convinced that it was the Russkies, and that it was just some bloody foreigner who got what was coming to him for not minding his P’s and Q’s. They’ll be walking around relieved in Grimsby I’m sure! 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2018 by samran

[Benmart]

1 hour ago, samran said:

I’m so relieved that the Dads Army crew is onto this one. Clearly they aren’t convinced that it was the Russkies, and that it was just some bloody foreigner who got what was coming to him for not minding his P’s and Q’s. They’ll be walking around relieved in Grimsby I’m sure! 

 

 

I find no humour in the pain and misery of others.

[evadgib]

8 hours ago, Jack Mountain said:

Coincidence of course: That stuff is made a few miles away of the attack. LMAO

 

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/the-elephant-in-the-room/

....the only place I've ever seen daisies in bloom... in December 

[evadgib]

6 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Most likely state sponsored if the use of a nerve agent is true. Look at his past and who would want to get even and who has access to this type of weapon.

They could just as easily have had him bumped off by any number of methods that wouldn't have drawn attention. Using chemicals to do so is an act of War and if proved should receive an appropriate and robust response from NATO.

[colinneil]

3 minutes ago, evadgib said:

They could just as easily have had him bumped off by any number of methods that wouldn't have drawn attention. Using chemicals to do so is an act of War and if proved should receive an appropriate and robust response from NATO.

So what would you suggest? nuking them!!

[samran]

1 hour ago, evadgib said:

They could just as easily have had him bumped off by any number of methods that wouldn't have drawn attention. Using chemicals to do so is an act of War and if proved should receive an appropriate and robust response from NATO.

If we put aside the highly credible theory of some our erstwhile posters here that it was some mouthy Johnny Foreigner getting his just desserts from a local with their own NHS supplied stash of nerve agent, then I’d assume (just for a moment of course) that the Russians wanted to draw attention to this. For two reasons:

 

- to say in a very public to all opponents of Putin that they aren’t safe even outside of russia - and that when they do get to you, they ain’t going to let you die easily

 

- to not so subtly show up the British intelligence agencies that they have no control over their home soil. 

 

I do find it humorous that those who are so keen to ‘take their country back’ have no issue giving a pass to the Russkies on this one. My only thought is these people are seen as ‘useful idiots’ by ole Vlad, and of course I would not dream that this comment include any highly knowledgeable TV posters!! 

Edited March 8, 2018 by samran

[boomerangutang]

9 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

A chef at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where the Russian spy and his daughter were eating just before the incident said: “He was very angry and being very rude. He was smartly dressed and had a thick Russian accent but he was behaving like an a******e.”

“He was waving his hands and banging the table. She barely said a word.”

 Which concurs with my experiences with customers from that part of the world. I am still not convinced it was a state sponsored assassination. When people chose to behave like complete morons in public many people can wish them harm. England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

The Russian may have been poisoned prior to his tirade.  Perhaps that was an early symptom.

A person feels ill-at-ease, doesn't know he's been poisoned - acts errantly.  I know when I get feel physically crappy, I don't want to be around anyone - because I can get crabby.

[rudi49jr]

9 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

A chef at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where the Russian spy and his daughter were eating just before the incident said: “He was very angry and being very rude. He was smartly dressed and had a thick Russian accent but he was behaving like an a******e.”

“He was waving his hands and banging the table. She barely said a word.”

 

 Which concurs with my experiences with customers from that part of the world. I am still not convinced it was a state sponsored assassination. When people chose to behave like complete morons in public many people can wish them harm. England is not the country it used to be where we left our doors unlocked and car keys in the ignition overnight. These days you gotta watch your p's and q's.

So a man and his daughter are attacked with nerve gas and are now fighting for their lives in the hospital, and all you can come up with is that the guy more or less deserved this because he was being a pain in the neck? Jeez dude, way to show a little compassion!

[evadgib]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

So what would you suggest?

NATO could knock the Russians out of the middle east overnight if they really wanted to neuter Putin but that is little more than wishful thinking on my part. If that doesn't work we could mobilize this lot for May day in Red Square...

[Jack Mountain]

1 hour ago, evadgib said:

....the only place I've ever seen daisies in bloom... in December 

Tsjernobyl victim buried there?

[Grouse]

3 hours ago, colinneil said:

So what would you suggest? nuking them!!

I would shut the Russian embassy with no notice. Tiny economy. Need to be taught a lesson. (Repo the oligarch's property while they're at it). Peasants.

[darksidedog]

A Troll post has been removed.

9) You will not post inflammatory messages on the forum, or attempt to disrupt discussions to upset its participants, or trolling. Trolling can be defined as the act of purposefully antagonizing other people on the internet by posting controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

Please keep it civil and stick to the subject matter. Thank you!

[joecoolfrog]

5 hours ago, samran said:

If we put aside the highly credible theory of some our erstwhile posters here that it was some mouthy Johnny Foreigner getting his just desserts from a local with their own NHS supplied stash of nerve agent, then I’d assume (just for a moment of course) that the Russians wanted to draw attention to this. For two reasons:

 

- to say in a very public to all opponents of Putin that they aren’t safe even outside of russia - and that when they do get to you, they ain’t going to let you die easily

 

- to not so subtly show up the British intelligence agencies that they have no control over their home soil. 

 

I do find it humorous that those who are so keen to ‘take their country back’ have no issue giving a pass to the Russkies on this one. My only thought is these people are seen as ‘useful idiots’ by ole Vlad, and of course I would not dream that this comment include any highly knowledgeable TV posters!! 

Commie Pinkos one week and good ole boyz the next , thats what being mates with Commander Trump does for you !

[RetroGTAndrew]

And of course I don't suppose the British security services have <ever> rubbed anyone out on foreign soil have they? [irony off!] hahaha!

 

I know Gib is a British Overseas Territory but It's an example....link