U.K. demands Russian explanation for new nerve agent poisoning
Britain’s interior minister demanded Thursday that Russia explain how two people were inadvertently poisoned with the same military-grade nerve agent used against a former Russian spy and his daughter, insisting that it was unacceptable that English towns become “dumping grounds for poison.’’
A man and woman in their 40s were in critical condition at a hospital in southwest England after they fell ill Saturday near Salisbury, a city not far from Britain’s iconic Stonehenge monument.
Experts at Britain’s Porton Down chemical weapons laboratory have determined that the two were exposed to the same type of Novichok nerve agent that was used to attack ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, on March 4 in Salisbury.
Britain has accused Russia of being behind the Skripal attack but the Kremlin denies any involvement. British Home Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament on Thursday that it is now time for Russia to explain “exactly what has gone on.’’
“It is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets, or for our streets, our parks, our towns to be dumping grounds for poison,’’ Javid said.
The unexplained poisoning of two British citizens with no apparent link to Russia raised health concerns in Salisbury, where a massive decontamination effort took place after the Skripal poisoning case.
There was no panic as police cordons sprang up again and police stood guard near potential contamination sites Thursday. Still, residents could not contain their unease with a second brush with Novichok, even though public health officials said the risk of contamination to anyone was very low.
Keith Burton, 56, was among the concerned.
“We had hoped it was all over and done with,’’ he said. “Perhaps they forgot about something? Perhaps it was something dropped somewhere? We simply don’t know.’’
Experts say just a few milligrams of the odourless liquid —the weight of a snowflake —is enough to kill a person within minutes. Finding it is the problem.
British officials say they believe the nerve agent was smeared on Skripal’s door, but have not explained how that was done. They had a timeline of the Skripals’ movements in Salisbury as they became ill, and spent millions of pounds cleaning those known sites. But they have not explained how they can, or cannot, track the nerve agent through an area.
Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-gordon said the latest victims are likely collateral damage from the Skripal attack.
“The Novichok gel that was smeared on the handle of the Skripals’ house was presumably transported in some device or syringe,’’ he said. “I think the working assumption now is that device or that syringe is what has appeared and the residue caused these two people to become ill.’’
The new case has surfaced days before a NATO summit that is expected to address the worsening relations between Russia and the West. It also comes as Russia hosts the World Cup —a monthlong global extravaganza in which both the English and Russian soccer teams have advanced so far.
The Kremlin’s spokesman says Russia is concerned about the case but had nothing to do with either poisoning.