Former agent in poison drama
A RUSSIAN double agent who was once arrested for leaking information to MI6 is fighting for his life after it is suspected he was poisoned in a British shopping centre.
Former spy Sergei Skripal, 66, was in a critical condition in Salisbury District Hospital yesterday where he was being treated for “suspected exposure” to an “unknown substance” after he and a woman were found unconscious on a shopping centre bench.
Mr Skripal was sentenced to 13 years’ jail by Russian authorities in 2006 when he was convicted for “high treason in the form of espionage”.
Russian prosecutors claimed he had been paid more than $100,000 by MI6 – Britain’s secret service – for information on Russian agents in Europe. He was given refuge in the UK in 2010 as part a USRussia spy swap.
The bizarre incident is already being compared to the 2006 murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. His widow Marina told Britain’s Telegraph the latest incident was “similar”.
Mr Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium that was slipped into his tea. A British inquiry into the death said Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the killing.
“It looks similar to what happened to my husband, but we need more information. We need to know the substance. Was it radioactive?,” Ms Litvinenko said.
Wiltshire police said it was not yet clear whether a crime had been committed in the Skripal case. “This has not been declared as a counter-terrorism incident and we would urge people not to speculate,” Constable Craig Holden said.
“However, I must emphasise that we retain an open mind and we will continue to review this position. We have access to a wide range of specialist resources and services that are helping us to understand what we are or aren’t dealing with at this time. The focus … is trying to establish what has caused these people to become critically ill, and we are working with partners to prioritise this diagnosis and ensure they receive the most appropriate treatment.”
Constable Holden said it was believed Mr Skripal and the woman, aged in her 30s, were known to each other.
A restaurant in Salisbury City Centre, 140km southwest of London, was also closed by police yesterday in connection with the investigation.