Russian suspects’ claims over spy attack spark mockery

London, UK - An interview by two men accused by London of poisoning a former Russian spy in Salisbury has prompted mockery and derision on social media - led by Britain’s Foreign Minister.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov denied being members of Russian military intelligence, telling the Kremlin-backed RT news network they were in the English city purely as tourists. “The last time Russian military claimed to be on holiday was when they invaded Ukraine in 2014,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted.

Salisbury Cathedral, a landmark the pair said they had wanted to visit, used the opportunity for a little promotion, tweeting a picture of its famous spire, ‘the tallest in Britain’.

In the Daily Telegraph newspaper, cartoonist Matt depicted three men in classic spy outfits on a Moscow bridge with the caption, ‘You went to Salisbury cathedral and you didn’t bring us back a keyring or a bookmark?’ One Twitter wag posted a picture of door handles, with the caption, ’Salisbury Cathedral gift shop announces range of souvenirs’.

The Russians are accused of putting the nerve agent Novichok on the front door handle of former double agent Sergei Skripal in the poisoning attack on March 4. He and his daughter Yulia became seriously ill, while a police officer on the case was also hospitalised.