Poison spy back from the brink
Weeks after family said he had a 1% chance, he’s no longer critical – as niece is banned from UK over fears she’s a Russian pawn
POISONED double agent Sergei Skripal was said to be making an extraordinary recovery last night after doctors revealed he was no longer in a critical condition and was ‘improving rapidly’.
The 66-year-old Russian was now ‘responding well to treatment’ – despite the wide- spread fear he would not survive the nerve agent attack.
It follows news that his daughter Yulia was recovering so fast she would soon be discharged from hospital. Sergei’s recovery raises the question about what the pair might now be able to tell the authorities about their poisoning with the Novichok toxin.
There was another dramatic development last night when Britain denied a visa for Yulia Skripal’s cousin because of fears she was being used as a pawn by the Russians.
Viktoria Skripal – who three weeks after the attack said the Skripals only had a one per cent chance of survival – was told her application to come to the UK to visit her relatives in hospital ‘did not comply with the immigration rules’.
Responding to the visa rejection, she told Sky News: ‘They [the British] must have something to hide.’ On another fast-moving day:
Russia claimed Britain was ‘playing with fire’ and would be ‘sorry’ for blaming the Kremlin for the poisoning as the two countries traded jibes at the United Nations;
Russian UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya even pointed to Midsomer Murders and read from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland to mock suggestions of Russian involvement;
Mystery surrounded the death of Mr Skripal’s cat and his two guinea pigs in his home.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the improvement in the condition of Mr Skripal was ‘great news’ and a ‘testament to the quick work’ of the NHS and emergency services.
The change in the ex-spy’s condition came as a huge surprise. He and his daughter Yulia, 33, were left fighting for their lives in intensive care in Salisbury after being attacked with nerve agent Novichok last month.
Miss Skripal’s condition stabilised last week, and she released a statement on Thursday saying her ‘strength was growing daily’.
Yesterday doctors at Salisbury District Hospital, where the pair have been treated since the March 4 attack, revealed her father is now in a stable condition.
Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director the hospital, said of Mr Skripal: ‘He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition.’
She added: ‘As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital.’
It was feared that Mr Skripal, who is believed to be the main target of the attack, had less of a chance of a recovery then his daughter because of his age and underlying health. In a High Court judgment on March 22 allowing scientists to take blood samples from the sedated victims, Mr Justice Williams said medical tests had indicated their ‘mental capacity might be compromised’.
Noting that Mr Skripal was in a worse condition than his daughter, the judge said he was ‘unable to communicate in any way’ and said his condition was not expected to change in the ‘near future’.
Reacting to reports of Mr Skripal’s improved condition, the Russian Embassy in the UK, which has repeatedly denied the Kremlin’s involvement, tweeted: ‘Good news!’
A Foreign and Commonwealth spokesman said: ‘We are very pleased that both Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia are improving’. The spokesman added: ‘Let us be clear, this was attempted murder using an illegal
chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses.’
A row broke out yesterday over a visa application by Yulia Skripal’s cousin. On Thursday a voice recording was broadcast on Russian state TV of an alleged conversation between Viktoria and Miss Skripal from her hospital bed in Salisbury.
In an unverified transcript of the call, Miss Skripal was asked by her cousin if she wanted her to visit, to which she responded: ‘I think no, there is such a situation now.’
The recording emerged at the same time as a Press conference by the Russian Ambassador in London, where he said he had offered to assist her visit and would give her accommodation. In an interview with BBC’s Newsnight later that day, the cousin was asked if she feared there was an information war going on. She responded: ‘I’m very worried. I’m scared, I’m very scared.’
Then yesterday the Home Office announced it was denying Viktoria a visa. A Government source said: ‘It is our belief that the Russian state is attempting to use Viktoria as a pawn. If she’s being influenced or coerced, she is another vic- tim of this situation. The Kremlin should not seek to turn this into a perverse stunt in their information war.’
Officials issued a statement admitting Mr Skripal’s black Persian cat Nash Van Drake was found in a ‘distressed state’ and was put down to ‘alleviate its suffering’.
Mr Skripal’s two guinea pigs were also found dead when a vet went to the property.
The Government refused to say whether the pets were tested for Novichok. It also refused to disclose why the guinea pigs had died of thirst when police had access to the property shortly after the incident on Sunday March 4.
‘I’m very worried, I’m very scared’