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posted by janrinok on Friday March 09 2018, @03:09AM   Printer-friendly

Police Say Nerve Agent Was Used in Attempt to Kill Sergei Skripal

Police say that they have identified a specific nerve agent as being used in an attempt to kill a Russian who once spied for the UK. They have not named the nerve agent that was used. Officers who responded to the scene have also been hospitalized:

A nerve agent was used to try to murder a former Russian spy and his daughter, police have said. Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon and remain critically ill. A police officer who was the first to attend the scene is now in a serious condition in hospital, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

[...] Mr Rowley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said government scientists had identified the agent used, but would not make that information public at this stage. "This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder, by administration of a nerve agent," he said. "Having established that a nerve agent is the cause of the symptoms... I can also confirm that we believe that the two people who became unwell were targeted specifically."

[...] Two other police officers who attended the scene were treated in hospital for minor symptoms, before they were given the all clear. It is understood their symptoms included itchy eyes and wheezing.

After 15th Alleged Russian Hit in the UK, Counter Terrorism Command takes over Investigation

Mr Skripal, 66, who was imprisoned in Russia for working for British intelligence and later came to the UK as part of a spy swap, is currently in critical condition, along with his 33-year-old daughter who was also taken ill. Authorities say they are trying to determine if he was poisoned.

Russia has denied any involvement, but the case has put renewed scrutiny on a string of deaths in the UK in the past two decades. The chair of the home affairs select committee, Yvette Cooper MP, wrote to Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Tuesday calling for a review of 14 other cases.

... British police say they have found no evidence of Russian involvement in any of the cases barring Litvinenko's.

"British police are under no sort of political pressure whatsoever," Tony Brenton, the British ambassador to Moscow at the time of Litvinenko's death, told the BBC. "If they had found evidence of Russian involvement in those cases, we would have followed it up."

But the UK government has faced criticism over a perceived lack of action. In the wake of Litvinenko's death, the UK tried and failed to extradite two Russian agents alleged to have carried out the hit. Instead, several Russian diplomats were expelled, provoking a tit for tat response from Russia.
...
In Salisbury, counter-terror police have taken over the investigation. The park bench where Mr Skripal collapsed has been cordoned off and a restaurant where he ate lunch has been temporarily closed.

At BBC World.

Previously: Former Russian Spy Exposed to "Unknown Substance" in Salisbury, England


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  • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Friday March 09 2018, @07:37AM (5 children)

    by zocalo (302) on Friday March 09 2018, @07:37AM (#649883)
    Some news sources are reporting that over 20 people have been treated for ill effects relating to the incident. *If* that's true (lots of rumours still) and those ill effects are a result of the nerve agent used then a contaminated surface contact seem like the most likely delivery method as that would allow for some targetting of the intended victim(s) but allows for a larger number of collateral victims with less serious effects, including the police officer who arrived on the scene after the fact, presumably suffering ill effects as a result of skin contact with the comatose Skripals. Aerosol might work too though, e.g. if enough residue were to be left on the skin of the victims to be a hazard for the police officer, so I don't think it's possible to draw and firm conclusions from the public data yet.

    Either way though, the use of nerve agent does tend to point to a state actor and there's really only one obvious state that would seem to have both motive and a track record in this area. Given the method seems to have entailed an extremely high risk of innocent collateral victims I suspect there's going to be a lot of pressure from the more hawkish members of government to be seen to be taking a hard line on those thought (or known) to be responsible. Expelling diplomats alone probably isn't going to cut it, so we can probably expect to see a whole bunch of trade and travel sanctions getting slapped on various parties in fairly short order followed by some tit-for-tat responses which, on top of a likely tradewar instigated by the US' introduction of new import tariffs, is just what the world economy needs at this point.
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Friday March 09 2018, @12:53PM (4 children)

    by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday March 09 2018, @12:53PM (#649931)

    The UK government is taking the line "prove who is guilty then respond" - a responsible line I think. Maybe just a quiet way of flapping/procrastinating/burying, but I can't imagine US government responding in the same way.

    What was the diplomatic outcome following Litvinenko?

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by zocalo on Friday March 09 2018, @01:40PM (1 child)

      by zocalo (302) on Friday March 09 2018, @01:40PM (#649945)
      I agree with the getting the facts straight part - the UK is generally pretty methodical and thorough in situations like this - but don't think the hawks or media will let them get away with just burying it, even if that were the intent. Members of the British public were harmed, including a police officer no less, right in the heart of prime Conservative-voting, Brexit-supporting, rural England so The Daily Mail et. al are going to be all over it and highly unlikely to to let it drop until Justice Is Done. Or something even better comes along, of course.

      The outcome after Litvinenko is in TFS; the UK tried (and failed) to expel the likely perpetrators, expelled a few Russian diplomats instead, and the Russians then responded in kind. Typically in these cases the "diplomats" being expelled are those connected with the security services and has the secondary effect of disrupting communications with local informants and agents, but with the corollary that you might not catch all the replacements, so it's a bit more serious than it might at first appear. Assuming the UK can single out one country, or perhaps a group of individuals, then I'm fully expecting a similar response here too, and if that country happens to be Russia (who has to be the prime suspect given they have the means, the motive, *and* past history) then there will probably be an escalation for the repeat offence, which probably means some additional trade sanctions that will probably also be reciprocated. There's also been talk of some form of political boycott of the World Cup, although that was mostly Boris Johnson so might not actually have any grounds in reality.
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      • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday March 09 2018, @02:43PM

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday March 09 2018, @02:43PM (#649974)

        > The outcome after Litvinenko is in TFS

        I guess I didn't even read TFS, let alone TFA. Mod me down :)

        > There's also been talk of some form of political boycott of the World Cup, although that was mostly Boris Johnson so might not actually have any grounds in reality.

        I note that Russia has been allowed back into the Bolympics. I wonder if that will lead to some boycotts by nations who don't condone cheating => break up of the bolympics (not a bad thing IMHO, it's just a big advertising hack/scam)

    • (Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Monday March 12 2018, @12:58AM (1 child)

      by Fluffeh (954) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 12 2018, @12:58AM (#651146) Journal

      but I can't imagine US government responding in the same way.

      What on earth are you talking about? They are about the only country in the world still not convinced that the Russians helped get Trump elected as President....

      • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Monday March 12 2018, @09:44AM

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Monday March 12 2018, @09:44AM (#651269)

        > What on earth are you talking about?

        The US media theatre tends to push for a "shoot from the hip" mentality in government. But I agree, the Trump vs Russia thing is a point.