WILL ROYALS NOW SNUB WORLD CUP?
As Boris threatens Russia with boycott over ‘poisoned’ spy ...and how spy’s critically ill daughter supported jailing Putin on Facebook
Royals and ministers are under pressure to boycott the World Cup in russia after the suspected poisoning of a double agent on British soil.
A member of the Royal Family would normally be expected to attend the tournament this summer. But Boris Johnson yesterday insisted the attack could not go unpunished.
The Foreign Secretary said that if the Kremlin was implicated ‘it would be very difficult to imagine’ officials, dignitaries and ministers going to Russia.
Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, and his brother Harry, have flown out to support England at previous tournaments.
Mr Johnson also enraged Moscow by describing Russia as a ‘malign and disruptive force’. Referring to the incident in Salisbury, he said: ‘We do not know exactly what has taken place, but if it is as bad as it looks, it is another crime in the litany of crimes that we can lay at Russia’s door.’
Sergei Skripal, who gave Russian secrets to Britain, was exposed to a mystery substance at a shopping centre in the cathedral city. The 66-year-old colonel and his daughter Yulia, 33, both collapsed and were critically ill in hospital last night.
As Scotland Yard launched an international manhunt to find their attacker:
Ministers were urged to reassess the safety of British fans at the World Cup;
Whitehall officials openly discussed the attack as ‘Litvinenko Two’, referring to
the former KGB spy who was killed in London in 2006;
Scientists at the Porton Down chemical weapons laboratory near Salisbury were working around the clock to identify the suspected fast-acting poison;
Police said two officers and another member of the emergency services who helped the Skripals were admitted to hospital after complaining of ‘itchy eyes’ and difficulty breathing;
An eyewitness to the former spy’s final lunch with his daughter at a Zizzi restaurant said he was ‘shouting and swearing’;
Emergency workers in decontamination suits were seen last night at an ambulance base in Amesbury, seven miles from Salisbury.
Mr Johnson made his remarks when responding to an urgent question in the Commons yesterday. At first it was thought he was suggesting the England team would boycott the World Cup. But aides insisted he was referring to officials and dignitaries.
Mr Johnson told MPs: ‘Thinking ahead to the World Cup this summer, it is very difficult to imagine how UK representation at that event could go ahead in the normal way, and we will certainly have to consider that.
‘Although it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, I can reassure the House that, should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, Her Majesty’s Government will respond appropriately and robustly.’
He added: ‘No attempt to take innocent life on UK soil will go either unsanctioned or unpunished.’ The Foreign Secretary was also asked for his response to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s boast about his new nuclear weapons systems last week.
He replied: ‘With our American friends we are making the case that it is time to bring the Russians firmly to heel.’
Tory MP Crispin Blunt said no royals should be sent to the World Cup if the Kremlin was found to be involved.
John Glen, Treasury minister and MP for Salisbury, said: ‘We cannot have silent assassins perpetrating this sort of crime, orchestrated from Moscow or wherever.
‘If that proves to be the case we will need to continue to stand up against it.’
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace declined to comment on whether there were plans for any members of the Royal Family to attend the World Cup or whether they would decline to go.
It is understood there are no plans for Prince William to attend at this stage.
Theresa May was yesterday briefed on the investigation by the chiefs of MI5 and MI6 at a meeting of the National Security Council. A Whitehall source said: ‘The initial assessment is that this looks like “Litvinenko Two”. It is being treated very, very seriously as a political attack because of the other people affected by it.
‘If Putin is behind this then Britain needs to be robust and react, if that means royals boycotting the World Cup then so be it.’
The source added: ‘Discussions have taken place about the security of British civilians going to Russia.’
Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism commanders suspect Mr Skripal was ambushed by an assassin after sharing a late Sunday lunch with his daughter.
Eyewitnesses said the Russian was ‘shouting and swearing’ as he drank white wine during a 5-minute meal at the rear of a branch of Zizzi, away from other customers.
The pair, who ate seafood risotto and garlic bread, left quickly after demanding a discount on their food, claiming it was prepared too slowly. They were found almost unconscious and ‘staring into space’ on a bench overlooking the River Avon.
Mr Skripal was living in a former police safe house, purchased for £260,000 cash in 2011, on a modern estate in the Salisbury suburbs. The once high-ranking military intelligence officer was given refuge in 2010.
Mr Putin said at the time: ‘Traitors will kick the bucket. Trust me. Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them.’
Mr Skripal, who is thought to have been paid £78,000 by MI6, was said by friends to have feared his new life in Britain would end badly.
The Times reported that the deaths of Mr Skripal’s wife from cancer in 2012, and of his son last year, will be considered as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman yesterday accused Mr Johnson of prejudging the issue. ‘It seems the script of yet another anti-Russian campaign has already been written,’ he said.