Policeman poisoned by Russian spy nerve agent
Use of rare chemical raises pressure on UK to take tough steps against Kremlin
A POLICE officer was seriously ill in intensive care last night after being poisoned by a nerve agent when he came to the aid of the Russian spy targeted in Salisbury.
The unnamed officer was one of the first on the scene on Sunday when Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were attacked by would-be assassins at a shopping arcade in the city centre.
The policeman was initially treated in hospital as a precaution and then discharged, but his condition deteriorated and he was readmitted on Tuesday and taken into intensive care.
The disclosure of the officer’s condition will add to pressure on the Government to take a hardline approach against Russia if state involvement is confirmed. It is thought to be the first time a nerve agent has been used in an assassination attempt on British soil.
Last night, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, described the events as “very troubling”. He said: “If this does turn out to be in any way the result of hostile activity by another government, or directed, led, by another government, then the people of this country can be absolutely sure that the UK will respond robustly.”
Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, is expected to make a statement to Parliament today amid growing speculation that the Russian ambassador may be expelled from London.
Kensington Palace also said that the Duke of Cambridge had no plans to attend this year’s World Cup in Russia.
Counter-terrorism specialists have confirmed that the substance used in the attack was a known nerve agent, and are treating the incident as attempted murder. Last night, it was reported that the nerve agent may have been developed in the notorious Yasenevo laboratory of Russia’s foreign intelligence service near Moscow.
The use of a rare chemical weapon appears to point twowardsa statebacked assassination attempt, rather than an organised crime hit. Security sources said the substance was held only in a “very small number of places”, making it easier to identify a source.
Col Skripal, who was recruited by Britain to spy on the Russian military during the Nineties, remained in a critical condition in hospital last night, alongside his 33-year-old daughter.
Mark Rowley, Scotland Yard’s Assistant Commissioner and the head of national counter-terrorism policing, said hundreds of detectives had been deployed to the investigation: “This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by the administration of a nerve agent.
“We believe the two people who originally became unwell were the specific targets and are focused on identifying and finding those responsible.”
He added: “A police officer who was among the first responders also remains in hospital in a serious condition and is continuing to receive intensive care. We are keeping the chief constable in Wiltshire regularly updated in relation to our investigation.”
It also emerged that a British security consultant close to Col Skripal has links to Christopher Steele, the intelligence agent who helped compile a controversial dossier on Donald Trump.
As detectives continued to hunt for the attackers, Whitehall sources said the fact a police officer had been injured increased the seriousness of the situation, with some directly blaming Russia. One source said there was now a widespread feeling in government that “Putin’s hands are all over this”.
The source said: “It’s one thing for a former Russian spy to be struck down by this, but when it starts filtering out and affecting normal British people going about their day-to-day jobs, there’s going to be tough questions asked of the Government in terms of its response. There’s an appetite among some of the Cabinet that Britain can’t just do nothing. A stand has to be taken.”
The incident has echoes of the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot dead in 1984 outside the Libyan embassy in London. Her murder led to a complete breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Sir Andrew Wood, who was Britain’s ambassador to Russia between 1995 and 2000, said the fact a police officer had been injured intensified matters.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “This makes the assassination attempt even more serious. If it is true that this is, in some fashion, the Russian state, it obviously
‘If it is true that this is the Russian state, it makes it even harder to believe the Russian state is to be trusted’
makes it even harder to believe the Russian state is worth anything or is to be trusted.
“The fact they targeted his daughter, and that a policeman is seriously ill, makes it emotionally difficult, but it does not alter the fact that this was an attempted assassination on British soil.” Sir Andrew said the diplomatic options of response could involve expelling the Russian ambassador.
Marina Litvinenko, the widow of
Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian dissident murdered in London in 2006, said last night: “It is awful. It is absolutely shocking. If the British authorities had taken my husband’s case more seriously when it happened, then maybe this would not have taken place. I didn’t want this to happen again on British soil and now it has.”
Col Skripal was convicted of spying for Britain in 2006 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. However, he was pardoned by Dmitry Medvedev, then the Russian president, in 2010 and granted asylum in the UK as part of a prisoner exchange, which included Anna Chapman, the glamorous spy, being returned to Moscow.
Experts initially cast doubt on whether Russia was behind the attack, because protocols signed during the prisoner exchange would have meant Col Skripal was “off limits”.
But one fellow political refugee claimed that Col Skripal was still working in cyber-security and was in regular contact with military intelligence officials at the Russian embassy.
Valery Morozov, a former construction magnate who fled Russia after exposing corruption, said he had decided to steer clear of Col Skripal because of his activities. He told Channel 4 News: “Frankly speaking, I thought that this contact may be not very good for me because it could bring some questions from British officials.”
As the police investigation widened, locals in Salisbury were warned to seek immediate medical advice if they started to feel ill.
Two women working in an office close to a restaurant where Col Skripal had eaten shortly before taking ill, were taken to hospital after becoming unwell at lunchtime yesterday.