Russia in ‘reckless act’ against UK

Prime Minister says nerve agent was made in that country but Kremlin criticises ‘circus show’

It is “highly likely” Russia was behind the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Theresa May has told MPs.

The Prime Minister said the substance used was a military-grade Novichok nerve agent produced by Russia and there were only two possible explanations – either Moscow was behind the attack or it had lost control of its stockpile of the poison.

A failure by Russia to provide a “credible response” would lead her to view the attack in Salisbury as “an unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom”, sparking undefined retaliatory measures.

Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko was summoned to a face-toface meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who gave Moscow a deadline of midnight to respond.

No handshake was offered by Mr Johnson, who voiced Britain’s outrage over the incident and said Moscow must immediately provide full and complete disclosure of its Novichok nerve gas programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd will chair a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergencies committee in Whitehall at 11.30am today to assess the latest position.

Mrs May said: “This attempted murder using a weapons-grade nerve agent in a British town was not just a crime against the Skripals.

“It was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the United Kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk.

“And we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder innocent civilians on our soil.”

The Kremlin has denied the involvement of the Russian government in the nerve agent attack on the Skripals.

Following Mrs May’s statement, news agency Tass quoted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying: “It is a circus show in the British Parliament.”

The National Security Council is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss the Russian response, if any.

In the US administration’s first public statement on the issue, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the attack was “reckless, indiscriminate and irresponsible”.

She said: “The use of a highly lethal nerve agent against UK citizens on UK soil is an outrage.

“We offer the fullest condemnation and we extend our sympathy to the victims and their families and our support to the UK Government.”

Meanwhile, investigators wearing hazardous materials suits have been working in the village of Winterslow about six miles from Salisbury.

Police and army teams were at a site where a white van was loaded on to a truck ready to be taken away.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed questions about his state’s alleged involvement in the Skripal case.

On a visit to a grain centre, he told the BBC: “We’re dealing with agriculture here ... and you talk to me about some tragedies.”

Pictures: PA. Above: investigators in protective clothing remove a van from an address in Winterslow near Salisbury in Wiltshire. Right: a policeman next to a cordon near to a bench in The Maltings in Salisbury, as police and members of the armed forces probe the...