Come off it, comrades...
The ten glaring flaws we found that rip apart their version of events
1. WHAT ABOUT THE NOVICHOK FOUND IN HOTEL ROOM?
The most obvious problem with their story is the fact that traces of novichok were found in their hotel room in east London. They were not asked, and did not explain, how this could possibly have happened.
2. WHY STAY IN EAST LONDON ANYWAY?
The pair say they flew from Moscow to visit Salisbury, insisting: ‘Our friends have been suggesting for quite a long time that we visit this wonderful city.’ But if they had truly wanted to experience the Wiltshire gem, why not stay in one of more than 60 hotels and guesthouses in the city? Instead, they wasted hours going back and forth on trains.
3. THEIR COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SNOWY WEATHER
Ruslan Boshirov claimed: ‘It was impossible to get anywhere because of the snow. We were drenched up to our knees.’ And his accomplice complained that on their Sunday visit, ‘there was heavy rain with snow’. Salisbury had indeed been transformed into a stunning winter wonderland with a blanket of snow in the days before they arrived. But the temperatures were already easing on Saturday, March 3, the first day they visited. By Sunday it was a relatively balmy 9C and occasionally sunny. There were no reports of ‘heavy rain’. CCTV images of the pair on Sunday showed it was damp but there was not a snowflake in sight. And a photo taken of Salisbury Cathedral on March 3 shows the snow had already melted from its roof.
4. WRONG DIRECTION FOR VISITING CATHEDRAL
Boshirov and Petrov insist they wanted to witness the magnificent spire of Salisbury Cathedral. This can be seen from the railway station – yet CCTV shows how the two Russians set off in completely the opposite direction. Instead of heading southeast from the station to the cathedral, they walked north-west and were captured on CCTV walking past a Shell garage on the way to the Skripal family home.
5. NO PICTURES OF THEM VISITING CATHEDRAL
The unlikely sightseers were spotted in many places in Salisbury – yet not at the cathedral, despite it being the city’s main attraction. They claim to have been there on the Sunday, saying: ‘The cathedral is very beautiful. They have lots of tourists, lots of Russian tourists.’ If CCTV exists of them visiting the 800-year-old treasure, it has not been made public. The two men do claim to have their own snaps of their visit however, but have failed to release them. The pair also claim they ‘went to a park, we had some coffee. We went to a coffee shop and drank coffee’. So far, no CCTV has been released to back this up.
6. BUS TOURS TO STONEHENGE WERE NOT CANCELLED
Petrov said the pair had also wanted to see nearby Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, ‘but it didn’t work out because of the slush’. Visitors to the prehistoric monument, 15km north of Salisbury, can catch a bus directly from the station forecourt.
Asked if snow or anything else had affected services, a spokesman for bus operator Salisbury Reds told the Mail yesterday: ‘The tour buses ran as normal on Sunday 4 March.’
7. AIRPORT ENTRY PHOTO
Boshirov suggests CCTV photos of them walking through Gatwick arrivals must have been faked, because they appear to show the two men walking through the same customs channel with precisely the same timestamp. But British police have already explained that there are two parallel channels.
8. ‘FAKE PHOTOS’ PROVED REAL
The pair’s confessions they were indeed the men in the photos wrecks one of Russia’s favourite conspiracy theories – that the British authorities faked the images.
9. BAD TIMING
A major flaw in their account was the very fact that the Skripals were indeed poisoned on the day they visited Salisbury.
10. TWO RETURN FLIGHTS
The pair also failed to explain why they had booked two alternative return flights from London to Moscow – giving them the option of leaving on Sunday or Monday.