Corbyn has let the British people down over Salisbury spy attack, says Javid
Communities Secretary hails Skripals’ recovery as an important moment for investigation
JEREMY CORBYN has “let the British people down” over his response to the Salisbury spy attack, Sajid Javid has said.
Mr Javid, the Communities Secretary, took aim at the Labour leader’s refusal to directly blame Moscow for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia as he described news of the former double agent’s recovery as an “important moment” for the investigation.
His intervention came after Boris Johnson labelled Mr Corbyn the “Kremlin’s useful idiot”.
Mr Skripal’s doctors said on Friday that he was “improving rapidly” and was “no longer in a critical condition”, raising police hopes that he could provide clues about how and why he was targeted. With both Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter, 33, recovering from exposure to a deadly Novichok nerve agent, attention has turned to what could happen to the pair if and when they are discharged from hospital.
The Sunday Times reported they could be offered new identities and a life in America in a bid to protect them against another assassination attempt.
MI6 intelligence officials have reportedly had discussions with their CIA counterparts about such a move.
Meanwhile, British police are drawing up plans to guarantee the safety of the poisoning victims.
They may be placed under a witness protection programme that could involve moving them to a “safe house” and, in exceptional circumstances, they could be given round-the-clock armed police protection and even receive new identities.
The British Government has blamed Russia for the spy attack but Moscow has denied all accusations of wrongdoing with relations between the two nations now increasingly strained.
Mr Corbyn has faced persistent criticism over his repeated failure to explicitly blame Russia for the attack.
Mr Javid yesterday told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One: “There’s no doubt when it comes up against this issue with Russia that we’re having ... that Jeremy Corbyn has let the British people down. There’s no question about that. But this is a much bigger issue than any one individual.
“I mean, let’s look at the facts. There’s been an attempted assassination on British streets with an illegal chemical weapon that we know is manufactured in Russia.”
Moscow has appealed to Britain to issue visas to relatives to allow them to visit the Skripals in hospital. But Mr Skripal’s niece, Viktoria, was refused entry to the UK amid fears the Kremlin was using her as a “pawn”.
Moscow also demanded the right to see the pair but Mr Javid insisted it should be up to the Skripals to decide.
He said, however, he “wouldn’t be surprised if the Skripals don’t want to meet the Russian authorities”.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, also criticised Mr Corbyn as he accused the Kremlin of peddling an “avalanche of lies and disinformation”.
He claimed the Labour leader was lending “false credibility” to propaganda from Moscow by refusing to say “unequivocally” that Russian was responsible for the Salisbury incident.
“There is only one thing that gives the Kremlin succour and lends false credibility to its propaganda onslaught. That is when politicians from the targeted countries join in,” Mr Johnson said. “Sadly, I am driven to the conclusion that Jeremy Corbyn has joined this effort.”
A Labour spokesman said: “Jeremy Corbyn has repeatedly said the evidence points to Russia being responsible, directly or indirectly, and that the Russian authorities must be held to account on the basis of evidence.”