Moscow accuses Britain of 'bluffing' over claims Russia poisoned former spy as experts unable to confirm 'source of nerve agent'

Putin called for a thorough investigation into the poisoning
AFP/Getty Images
Alexandra Richards3 April 2018

Russia has said the UK Government has lost a "key piece of intelligence" in response to reports that Porton Down experts were unable to identify source of the nerve agent used to poison a former spy.

Reacting to comments made by Gary Aitkenhead, the chief executive of the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Russia denied any involvement in the attack and said “UK Government statements on the nerve agent having been produced in Russia were a bluff.”

President Vladimir Putin, citing Mr Aitkenhead, called for a thorough investigation into the poisoning, adding "the speed at which the anti-Russian campaign has been launched causes bewilderment."

Mr Aitkenhead said on Tuesday the poison used on Sergei Skripal and his daughter had been identified as a military-grade Novichok nerve agent which could probably be deployed only by a nation-state.

But he told Sky News it was not Porton Down's role to work out where the agent came from.

A Russian Embassy spokesman said: "We understood from the very start that UK Government statements on the nerve agent having been produced in Russia were a bluff.

"Now this has been confirmed by the head of the secret lab. This only proves that all political declarations on the Russian origin of the crime are nothing but assumptions not stemming from objective facts or the course of the investigation.”

"This has also been essentially confirmed by today's comment by the Foreign Office, whose 'intelligence picture' has lost a key piece - while the rest are kept secret even from Britain's allies.”

The UK Government responded to the Mr Aitkenhead’s comments by saying that they still believed Russia was responsible for the "reckless act", adding that Porton Down is "only one part of the intelligence picture".

Russia has previously said it is not responsible for the March 4 attack, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov even suggesting on Monday that it might have been carried out by the British authorities as a means of distracting voters from its difficulties with Brexit.

The Russian Embassy spokesman went on to reinforce this accusation and claimed that the nerve agent was manufactured at Porton Down.

Double agent: Sergei Skripal was found unconscious in Salisbury, where he has been living a quiet retirement

He said: "We have also noted that, like in his earlier interview, Mr Aitkenhead is not denying that the lab had developed or keeps stocks of the agent they call 'novichok', although, of course, he would not admit it.

"By the way, some time ago we asked the Foreign Office to facilitate a meeting with Mr Aitkenhead or his colleagues, but have got no reply.

"One has to conclude that the UK Government prefers to block the Embassy from discussing the matter with experts who may possess the uncomfortable truth."

Mr Aitkenhead flatly denied Russian claims the substance could have come from Porton Down itself.

He said: “There's no way that anything like that would ever have come from us or leave the four walls of our facilities.

"We've got the highest levels of security and controls. We are regularly audited by the OPCW to make sure we are operating within those controls. If there was any hint that anything that we have would be leaving our four walls, then we wouldn't be allowed to operate."

The comments come a day ahead of an extraordinary meeting in The Hague of the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to discuss the Salisbury attack.

The meeting on April 4 - to be held behind closed doors - was called by Russia to "address the situation around allegations of non-compliance" with the chemical weapons convention made by the UK against Moscow.

Mr Lavrov suggested relations between Russia and the West were worse than during the Cold War, accusing the UK and US of "putting all decency aside" in their dealings with Moscow.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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