UK names two Russian nationals as suspects in Salisbury Novichok attack
- 6 years ago
The British government has named two Russian suspects thought be involved in the Novichok nerve agent poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service said there was enough evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov for attempted murder.
Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament that investigations showed they are officers of Russia's military intelligence service, known as the GRU.
She added the poisoning was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state.
She also vowed to work on countering the GRU.
"……..And Mr Speaker, while the House will appreciate that I cannot go into details, together with our allies, we will deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus in order to counter the threat posed by the GRU."
Moscow, which has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack, hit back at the announcement, with a Kremlin aide saying the names meant nothing.
Russia's London embassy also called on the British government to "give up politicized public accusations."
Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service said there was enough evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov for attempted murder.
Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament that investigations showed they are officers of Russia's military intelligence service, known as the GRU.
She added the poisoning was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state.
She also vowed to work on countering the GRU.
"……..And Mr Speaker, while the House will appreciate that I cannot go into details, together with our allies, we will deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus in order to counter the threat posed by the GRU."
Moscow, which has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack, hit back at the announcement, with a Kremlin aide saying the names meant nothing.
Russia's London embassy also called on the British government to "give up politicized public accusations."