250 200 police officers, 240 witnesses and pieces of evidence in poison probe
telephone directory of the GRU, the Russian mi l itary intelligence organisation.
Skripal was recruited by MI6 while he was a GRU officer stationed in Spain in 1995.
He was paid about £ 5000 in cash after each meeting with his MI6 handler. Intelligence sources believe Russia may be specifically targeting double agents living in Britain because of MI6’s success in recruiting Russian spies.
The probe has extended to include other members of the Skripal family.
The grave of Skripal’s wife and nearby headstone of his son Alexander have also been taped off as forensic examinations are carried out at the Salisbury cemetery where Liudmila is buried. The site was cordoned off on Friday but police insisted they were not exhuming a body.
Alexander died aged 43 last July in St Petersburg from liver fai lure. His mother died of cancer in 2012.
A childhood friend of Yulia said she fears people are afraid to speak out about the victims. Irina Petrova, who has known Yulia since they attended primary school in Russia, said relatives “don’t want to talk”, adding: “There aren’t many of them left.”
Irina said: “I’m starting to get scared. No one wants to speak – even her relatives.”
She added that Yulia “had not done anything to deserve what had happened to her”.
Skirpal and Yulia moved to the UK in 2010 when he was released as part of a spy swap. She returned to Moscow five years later and was visiting the UK.
Security Minister Ben Wallace said: “Someone has come on to our soi l and has recklessly, brazenly, committed what looks like a very nasty crime with a nerve agent prohibited by most international laws.”
He said the Government were prepared to “respond with the full force of the UK’s resources”.
Pol ice said 21 people had received medical treatment since the incident, including members of the public and emergency staff.
The attack is being treated as attempted murder. The Kremlin deny responsibility.