Victims hospitalized after ‘brazen, reckless’ nerve-agent attack

LONDON — Around 21 people have received medical treatment after a nerve-agent attack on an ex-Russian spy, British police said on Thursday, as the United Kingdom vowed strong action against whoever was responsible for the “brazen and reckless” act.

Former spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter and a British police officer who tried to help them remain hospitalized after the poisoning on Sunday in the southern English city of Salisbury.

Health authorities said there is little risk to the wider public, but Wiltshire county acting police chief Kier Pritchard said “around 21 people” have had treatment, including the Skripals, who were found unconscious on a bench.

Pritchard said “a number” of the 21 were having “bloodtests, support and advice”. Previously, authorities said only that “several” people had sought treatment.

The ex-spy and his daughter remain in critical condition in a Salisbury hospital. A police officer who came to their aid, Sergeant Nick Bailey, is hospitalized in a serious condition, though he is conscious and talking, officials said.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said enormous resources are being devoted to determining who poisoned Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia, who were found unconscious on a bench.

“The use of a nerve agent on British soil is a brazen and reckless act,” Rudd said. “This was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way.”

Rudd said Britain will respond strongly when it is clear who is to blame.

The Russian embassy in London, which has mocked other British politicians for suggesting Russian involvement, tweeted that it agreed with Rudd: “First evidence, then conclusions on Mr Skripal’s case. Responsible political approach.”

Police have refused to publicly speculate on who is behind the attack, but Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain will “respond appropriately” if evidence shows Moscow was responsible for the attack.

“We will do what is appropriate, we will do what is right, if it is proved to be the case that this is state-sponsored,” May told ITV News, when asked whether Britain could expel the Russian ambassador.

“But let’s give the police the time and space to actually conduct their investigation,” she added.

Russian denial

The Russian government has denied the attempted killing of Skripal, a former Russian agent who served jail time in his homeland for spying for Britain before being freed in a spy swap.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Britain’s warnings are propaganda and not serious.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Lavrov said Russian officials had not received a single fact or piece of concrete evidence about what happened to Skripal and his daughter.

“What we see is only news reports ... saying that if it is Russia, then a response is going to be given that Russia is going to remember forever,” Lavrov said. “That is not serious. This is propaganda fair and square and it is an attempt to raise tensions.”