Raab backs Czech hunt for Skripal suspects

THE Foreign Secretary has condemned Russia’s actions after Czech police revealed they were hunting two men over a huge ammunition depot explosion, whose passports match the names of the Russians suspected of the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury.

Czech police said the pair – identified as Alexander Petrov, 41, and Ruslan Boshirov, 43 – had visited the country between October 11 and 16, 2014.

An explosion on October 16, 2014 in a depot in Vrbetice where 50 tonnes of ammunition was stored claimed two victims, followed by another that December.

Petrov and Boshirov are wanted by police in the UK after the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges against them in connection with the attempted killing of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury on March 4, 2018.

On Saturday the Czech Republic said it was expelling 18 Russian diplomats who it had identified as spies over the explosion.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the latest developments show “a pattern of behaviour by Moscow”, adding: “The UK stands in full support of our Czech allies, who have exposed the lengths that the Russian intelligence services will go to in their attempts to conduct dangerous and malign operations in Europe.

“We are as determined and committed as ever to bring those responsible for the attack in Salisbury to justice, and commend the actions of the Czech authorities to do the same.”

Mr Skripal, a former Russian spy turned double agent for MI6, and his daughter Yulia, survived the attack but the incident later claimed the life of Dawn Sturgess after she came into contact with a discarded perfume bottle.

The two suspects were seen on CCTV footage in Salisbury the day before the attack.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement.