|
UK police: Russian ex-spy was attacked with nerve gas, Moscow suspected
[ARABNEWS] Britannia on Wednesday said it was sure that the Russian ex-spy was attacked with nerve gas, as Moscow accused politicians and journalists of whipping up anti-Russian sentiment. Earlier, Interior Minister Amber Rudd said police "know more about the substance" after chairing an emergency government meeting to discuss the case of Sergei Skripal, but did not release any details of what progress had been made. She also called for "cool heads" over the poisoning, which is already being linked with Russia by British politicians and media. The 66-year-old Russian, who moved to Britannia in a 2010 spy swap, is in a critical condition in hospital along with his daughter Yulia after they collapsed on a bench outside a shopping center in the southwestern English city of Salisbury on Sunday. "We need to keep a cool head," said Rudd, adding that Sherlocks would respond to "evidence, not to rumor." Police say they are keeping an open mind about what happened, but Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Tuesday pointed the finger at Russia. He noted the "echoes" with the 2006 poisoning in London of former Russian spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, which Britannia has blamed on Moscow. The Kremlin hit back on Wednesday, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling news hounds the story "was straight away used to boost an anti-Russian campaign in the media." Zakharova earlier said Johnson’s comments were "wild." National counter-terrorism police have taken control of the case, citing the "unusual circumstances," and opened a new scene of the crime on Wednesday in the nearby town of Amesbury. Probably only a coincidence for those who believe in such things, but north on the A338 approx 6 kms from where the Colonel and his daughter were found lies Winterbourne Gunner. Posted by: Fred 2018-03-08 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=509703 |