Toxin used in attack on spy was deadly Novichok, say inspectors
INTERNATIONAL inspectors yesterday backed the UK’s findings on the identity of the chemical used to poison a former Russian spy in Salisbury.
A report from the international chemical weapons watchdog said analysis of blood samples taken from three people poisoned in the March 4 incident confirmed the nerve agent used was from the deadly Novichok family of toxins.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also revealed the toxic chemical found on the victims was “of high purity”.
Samples were taken from former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and detective sergeant Nick Bailey, the police officer injured in the attack.
An executive summary does not directly name Novichok – the military grade agent developed by Russia which the Government said was used – or identify the source of the poison.
But a confidential full report, distributed only to government officials, was understood to include details of the toxin.
“The results of analysis by the OPCW designated laboratories of environmental and biomedical standards collected by the OPCW team confirm the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury and severely injured three people,” the summary said.
“The name and structure of the identified toxic chemical are contained in the full classified report of the secretariat, available to state parties.”
Last night Professor Laurence Harwood, director of the University of Reading Chemical Analysis Facility, said: “The OPCW summary report completely vindicates the UK’s analysis and identification of the nerve agent.
“Moreover, the OPCW summary goes on to say ‘the toxic chemical was of high purity’, which rules out the unlikely possibility that it had been synthesised by a third party. This renders it beyond any possible doubt that the source of the nerve agent, named as a member of the Novichok family by the United Kingdom, is Russia.”
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson welcomed the report’s findings, saying: “The Kremlin must give answers.
“This is based on testing in four independent, highly reputable laboratories around the world. All returned the same conclusive results.
“There can be no doubt what was used and there remains no alternative explanation about who was responsible – only Russia has the means, motive and record.”
He said Britain has called a meeting of the OPCW executive council in The Hague for next Wednesday to discuss “next steps”.
Theresa May’s government invited the OPCW to carry out a technical investigation after Moscow strongly challenged its assertion that responsibility for the attack lay with the Kremlin.
Responding to the OPCW summary, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “There are no grounds to believe that all this is not a continuation of the crude provocation against the Russian Federation by the security services of Britain.”