Russia ‘still manufacturing nerve agents like Novichok’

RUSSIA is still developing chemical weapons such as Novichok, the head of the defence committee has warned, despite its pledges to destroy stockpiles.

Leading UK figures say it is time to confront the Kremlin over ongoing breaches of the United Nation’s Chemical Weapons Convention, which Moscow ratified in 1997, and its continued nerve agent attacks on opponents.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence select committee, and Hamish de Bretton- Gordon, a chemical and biological security expert, have called for Britain to show leadership over the issue. It is the UK’S duty as host of next year’s G7 meeting to ensure the issue is on the agenda, the former defence minister said.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Ellwood said Russia should be held to account over breaches of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

“The convention has no teeth,” he said. “It hasn’t got the ability to investigate. You need to be able to quickly establish where these factories are located and have them closed down.

“If Russia has breached international law we need to confirm that.”

Mr Ellwood said Britain’s ability to identify the grade of Novichok used in the May 2018 Salisbury attack, and how it was used was “phenomenal”.

He also highlighted a 12-month study by Bellingcat, the investigative group, that has further exposed Russia’s clandestine chemical weapons programme.

The call for action comes after the European Union imposed sanctions on Oct 15 on six senior Russian officials and a leading research institute over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition figure.