I’m getting stronger by the day, says spy’s girl

First words of daughter poisoned by nerve agent

THE spy’s daughter poisoned in the Salisbury nerve agent attack said yesterday her strength is ‘growing daily’.

In her first comments since the attack last month, Yulia Skripal said that she had woken from a coma over a week ago.

The 33-year- old and her father Sergei Skripal, 66, have been treated for exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.

Miss Skripal’s statement, issued by UK police, came after Russian TV claimed that she had contacted a relative in Moscow – telling a cousin that she and her father were recovering and she would soon be discharged from hospital.

In the statement released through the Metropolitan Police, Miss Skripal said: ‘I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily. I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received.

‘I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence.’

She thanked ‘the people of Salisbury that came to my aid when my father and I were incapacitated’. The pair were found unconscious on a bench on March 4.

Earlier yesterday, state- run Russian TV channel Russia-1 aired an alleged phone conversation between Miss Skripal and her cousin Viktoria.

In a recording – which even the Russian presenters admitted could not be verified – Miss Skripal is alleged to have said she would soon be leaving Salisbury District Hospital. ‘Everything is fine, everything is solvable, everyone is getting better, everyone is alive,’ a voice is heard saying.

Discussing her father, it was claimed she said he was ‘all right’ and resting, adding: ‘Everyone’s health is normal, no irreversible things happened.’That is in stark contrast to the assessment given in a High Court ruling last month, which said former spy Mr Skripal – believed to have been the main target of the attack – remained heavily sedated and may never regain capacity.

The recording, which lasted less than two minutes, was apparently made by Viktoria – the daughter of Sergei’s late brother – even though she had not initially known who was calling her.

Viktoria told Russia-1 she wanted to fly to the UK to see Yulia and take her back to Moscow to care for her, but that her uncle’s British citizenship made his situation ‘more complicated’. She said: ‘At the moment, I have just one goal: Fly there and get Yulia, at the very least Yulia.’

The Russian Embassy has been pushing for consular access to the victims of the poisoning, but it appears Miss Skripal has chosen not to engage with them.

Russia has appealed for the UK to issue visas for relatives to visit the Skripals. Moscow has also called a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the incident, with the Kremlin’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov saying that the UK had ‘legitimate questions’ to answer about what happened.

Security minister Ben Wallace said it was ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that Russia was to blame for the attack – though the Kremlin continues to deny having any link to the poisoning.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said yesterday: ‘We have conveyed to Ms Skripal the Russian Embassy’s offer of consular assistance. Ms Skripal is now able to choose if and when to take up this offer, but to date she has not done so.’

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has rejected Moscow’s calls for Russian officials to be allowed to take part in the investigation.

Earlier this week Vladimir Putin seized on comments by the head of the Porton Down research facility indicating that the lab had not been able to pin down the source of the nerve agent.

However, the Government said that other sources had allowed them to trace the poison’s origin to Russia – describing Porton Down as ‘only one part of the intelligence picture’.

Yesterday the Mail revealed security sources had evidence that Moscow tested Novichok on door handles and everyday objects before the Salisbury attack.

Police suspect that the substance had been smeared on the Skripals’ front door.

Jeremy Corbyn cannot be trusted with top secret intelligence on the Salisbury poison attack, the security minister suggested yesterday.

The Labour leader was briefed on the Salisbury attack last month, and Ben Wallace said he had received more information ‘than the average backbench MP’ but less than senior ministers.

He added: ‘The circle of who gets to see very sensitive information is very small because if you leak it or it gets out, people’s lives are put at risk.’

Labour called the comments ‘completely irresponsible’. i.bains@dailymail.co.uk

‘I want to fly there and get Yulia’