UK lab: We can’t prove that poison came from Russia
A BRITISH military research facility last night said it could not prove the nerve agent used in last month’s spy attack in the UK came from Russia.
Gary Aitkenhead, head of the Porton Down laboratory, said yesterday that it had not yet been possible to say where the novichok used in the attack was made.
He added: ‘It’s a militarygrade nerve agent which requires extremely sophisticated methods in order to create – something that’s probably only within the capabilities of a state actor.’
But he told Sky News it was not Porton Down’s role to work out its origin and said the UK government relied on ‘a number of different input sources’ in concluding that it was highly likely to be from Russia.
The incident took place last month when former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found poisoned with a nerve agent in the English city of Sakisbury.
The poisoning led to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from numerous countries, including Ireland.
Downing Street last night said that Mr Aitkenhead’s comments made no difference to the government’s assessment that the attack emanated from Russia, which was based only partly on the evidence from Porton Down.
Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to Ireland has suggested it is ‘at least plausible’ that some sectors of the British government may have been involved in the Salisbury attack. And Russian president Vladimir Putin last night claimed 20 countries could have poisoned Sergei Skripal.
In Dublin at a media briefing yesterday, Russian ambassador Yuri Filatov said the British government has been blaming Russia for the incident without any proof. He went on to detail a list of questions the Russian government has for the UK and French governments, and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
‘These questions are not meant to be rhetorical,’ said Mr Filatov. ‘So far, the only thing which is clear to us is that the British government decided to put the blame for the Salisbury incident on Russia without presenting any evidence to that effect.’
Mr Filatov said the Russian government was also calling on the OPCW to meet to discuss the matter, and for Britain to provide all the evidence it has.
The OPCW was last night unavailable for comment. The British embassy in Ireland also failed to respond to a request for comment yesterday.
A Russian embassy official confirmed the diplomat who was ordered to leave Ireland will depart on Friday.
Last night a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs told the Mail: ‘At the European Council meeting on March 22, EU leaders unanimously agreed with the United Kingdom government’s assessment that the Russian Federation is highly likely to have been responsible for the attack in Salisbury on 4 March 2018, and that there is no plausible alternative explanation… Ireland’s decision was not just based on political and diplomatic factors but on assessment of the full range of factors.’
‘Plausible’ some British involved