Skripal Case Bombshell: Swiss Lab Reports 'BZ Toxin' Used In Salisbury - Chemical Not Produced In Russia, Only NATO States

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Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the death of one of the Amesbury victims, saying that the poisoning poses a threat not only to Britons, but to all Europeans.

Mon Jul 09, 2018 - Kremlin: Amesbury Incident Threat to Europe, Alleged Links to Russia Are Absurd
Farsnews

"I do not know what discussions and what statements preceded, and whose statements preceded these words, to which you have now referred. We do not know that someone mentioned Russia in vain against the backdrop of the second incident. We do not know that Russia was somehow mentioned, or somehow associated with it. We believe that in any case this would be quite absurd," Peskov said, in response to statements by the Russian ambassador to the OPCW, Sputnik reported.

Peskov added that "the nature of the incident [in Amesbury] causes concern" and "poses a great danger".

The Kremlin regrets the death of the victim of the incident in Amesbury and is deeply concerned about this state of emergency. This second consecutive incident of poisoning in the UK poses a threat not only to the British, but also to all Europeans, Peskov told reporters.

On Thursday, UK police announced that a couple, Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, was believed to have handled an item allegedly contaminated with the same military-grade Novichok nerve agent which was reportedly used in the attack on the Skripals in the UK city of Salisbury, located several miles from Amesbury.

On Sunday, the UK Metropolitan Police said that a woman, identified as Dawn Sturgess, had died in a local hospital after being exposed to a toxic substance in Amesbury. Police have launched a murder inquiry.


09.07.2018 - UK Defense Secretary Blames Russia for Death of Woman in Amesbury
UK Defense Secretary Blames Russia for Death of Woman in Amesbury

Though earlier in the day UK counter-terrorism officer Neil Basu was unable to confirm that a toxic substance allegedly used for the poisoning of Dawn Sturgess was similar to those claimed to be used for the attack on Skripals, the UK Defense Secretary blamed the incident on Russia.

UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson, when asked in parliament about a threat British people are facing after a woman died allegedly from a toxic agent, said that Russia had committed an attack on the UK soil, which resulted in the death of a British national.

"The simple reality is that Russia has committed an attack on British soil which has seen the death of a British citizen," Williamson said, adding that the incident is something that in his opinion "the world will unite with us [the UK] in actually condemning."

The statement came after one of the two people who were allegedly exposed to a toxic agent Amesbury died in a hospital on July 8.

The UK police was unable to confirm whether the toxin the couple was exposed to was the same as that allegedly used against Russian ex-military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

On Thursday, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that the United Kingdom would take "further action" should Russia's involvement in the incident be confirmed. He noted, however, that "we don't want to jump to conclusions."


09.07.2018 - Amesbury Couple's Friend Opens Up About Last Meeting on Eve of Poisoning
Amesbury Couple's Friend Opens Up About Last Meeting on Eve of Poisoning

According to a man who claims to have been one of the last people to see Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, the Amesbury couple was poisoned by a nerve agent rather than drugs. They were found unwell at a property in Amesbury on June 30 after they traveled there on a bus from Salisbury, the site of a famous spy attack.

Craig Pattenden, a pal of the couple exposed to a nerve agent in Amesbury, told Sputnik that he came across Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley on a bus going from Salisbury to Amesbury the night before they fell ill.

Mr Pattenden, 38, said the two looked good the night he saw them. According to him, Charlie Rowley, a heroin and cocaine addict, looked a bit drunk.

The man noted, quoting a friend named Sam, that Ms. Sturgess was the first of the two to be poisoned, leading to convulsions, foam coming out of her mouth and her pupils narrowing to the point that they could hardly be seen.

The couple's friend believes that the poisoning had nothing to do with drugs, but rather involved a nerve agent. He supposed that the source of contamination was an item that Don had picked up on the street, for instance, a fag end or a container.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, from Salisbury, and Charlie Rowley, 45, of Amesbury, were found unconscious at Mr. Rowley's home in Amesbury on June 30. Dawn Sturgess died on July 1 at Salisbury Hospital; Mr Rowley remains in critical condition in hospital, local media report.

According to UK counterterrorism chief Neil Basu, the Amesbury couple was poisoned by Novichok, a nerve agent.

 

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13 Jul, 2018 - UK police claim to have found bottle containing nerve agent in victim’s house
UK police claim to have found bottle containing 'Novichok' nerve agent in Amesbury victim’s house

UK police say they have found the source of the nerve agent that allegedly poisoned two people in Amesbury, killing one. They claim the source appears to be a small bottle discovered on of the victim’s homes.

The bottle was apparently found in Charlie Rowley's house in Amesbury on Wednesday. "Scientists have now confirmed to us that the substance contained within the bottle is Novichok," a Friday statement by police said.

Rowley, 45, and his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, 44, took ill on June 30, with what British police later said was nerve agent poisoning caused by Novichok, citing researchers at the nearby Porton Down chemical lab. Both were admitted to the Salisbury hospital in critical condition.

Sturgess died a week later, while Rowley’s condition improved. By Wednesday this week he was no longer critical, medics said.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW


13.07.2018 - UK Police Says Found Source of Deadly Substance Used in Amesbury Incident
UK Police Says Found Source of Deadly Substance Used in Amesbury Incident

The Metropolitan Police Friday that it had found a small bottle, containing Novichok nerve agent, in the house of one of the Amesbury incident victims.

"On Wednesday, 11 July, a small bottle was recovered during searches of Charlie Rowley's house in Amesbury," police said in a statement. "Scientists have now confirmed to us that the substance contained within the bottle is Novichok."

The police further said that it would take necessary tests to establish whether Novichok found in Rowley's house was from the same batch that was used in the Skripals case.

Further scientific tests will be carried out to try and establish whether it is from the same batch that contaminated Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March — this remains a main line of enquiry for police," the statement added.

One of the victims, 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess, died in a hospital on Sunday, while her partner, 45-year-old Charlie Rowley, regained consciousness on July 11.

On the morning of July 4, the UK police reported a "serious incident" in Amesbury, Wiltshire, where two people were exposed to an unknown substance and were hospitalized in critical condition. Later, Scotland Yard confirmed that the man and woman were poisoned with the same substance as the Skripals.


12.07.2018 - Toxicology Experts on Amesbury Incident: Toxin Could Hardly Last Since Salisbury
Toxicology Experts on Amesbury Incident: Toxin Could Hardly Last Since Salisbury

The toxicology experts in their comments to Sputnik doubted that the nerve agent could persist in the environment since the March 4 incident with the Skripals in Salisbury to affect two more people in Amesbury four months later, causing death of one of the victims.

On Monday, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson accused Russia of carrying out the poisoning attack in Amesbury. In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the accusations as "good old mantra" and urged the UK authorities to carry out a comprehensive investigation.

On July 4, the UK police reported about an incident in Amesbury, Wiltshire, where two people were exposed to an unknown substance and were hospitalized in critical condition. Shortly after, the UK police announced that the couple, Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, were believed to have handled an item allegedly contaminated with the same military-grade nerve agent which was allegedly used in the recent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, located several miles from Amesbury.

Both attacks took place not far from the Porton Down lab, one of the UK government's main chemical research facilities, involved in both investigations. The odd coincidence prompted Moscow on Wednesday to demand that London disclose its program on synthesis of chemical warfare agents. According to the Russian Embassy in London, the fact that UK experts had swiftly identified the poison type and provided advice to the doctors who treated the victims indicates that the lab "has indeed researched and stockpiled such a chemical agent and the respective antidotes."

NERVE AGENT UNLIKELY TO REMAIN ACTIVE SINCE MARCH

"If the most recent cases were indeed poisonings, and if indeed the poison was a Novichok nerve agent, it would seem unlikely that the chemical could have persisted for 4 months in sufficient quantities to cause poisonings from presumably an incidental contact," Rudy J. Richardson, a professor of Toxicology at University of Michigan, said.

Dr. Richardson noted however that Novichok-type nerve agents had been designed to be much more persistent than most other organophosphorus nerve agents.

The same viewpoint was expressed by a chemical weapons expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

"I’m puzzled as to how the couple in Amesbury were exposed. Four months is a very long time for a nerve agent to still be active in the environment, but there have been reports that at least some of the Novichoks are more stable than other nerve agents, such as sarin," Mark Bishop said.

Dr. Alastair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, said that nerve agents disappear in the environment through two processes – evaporation with higher temperatures accelerating it and contact with water in a process of hydrolysis which degrades the agent.

"But rates of hydrolysis vary enormously between nerve agents, and some are much more slowly broken down. The Novichoks appear to be in this last category, but there is no published literature on this. It is data that is required urgently," the expert noted.

Bishop doubted that the couple in Amesbury could have been affected by the toxic substance left after the Skripal alleged poisoning in early March though he mentioned that it was hard to avoid the thought that the two incidents were somehow linked.

"At least some of the Novichoks are thought to be solids, which could last longer in the environment. It still seems unlikely to me that they would have come in contact with a Novichok left in the environment from the Salisbury attack," the expert said.

Dr. Hay yet expressed assumption that the incident in Amesbury could be residual contamination from the Skripals incident, most likely caused by skin contact, but stressed that there was no certainty about that.

As for the suggestions about a possible country of origin, Dr. Richardson highlighted that production of Novichok-type agents could not be attributed to one particular country.

"It is also worth noting that the technology to produce Novichok agents is now widely known and the ability to produce such agents could be found in any country – it only depends on some expertise in chemical synthesis obtaining the precursor chemicals," Dr. Richardson said.

The expert noted that it had been openly published in the scientific literature that, for example, Novichok-type nerve agents had been produced by chemists in Iran at least in small quantities for research purposes.

DIFFERENT IMPACT OF ALLEGED POISONING ON VICTIMS

On Sunday, the UK Metropolitan Police said that a woman, identified as Dawn Sturgess, had died in a local hospital, one week after being exposed to a toxic substance in Amesbury. The police have launched a murder inquiry.

On Tuesday, the Salisbury District Hospital said that the second victim, 45-year-old Charlie Rowley, regained consciousness.
Earlier in the day, the hospital said that Rowley was no longer in critical condition.

Dr. Richardson called absorbed dose of the poison at the site of action one of the most important variables. He added that the absorbed dose itself depends on many factors including the amount of the exposure and the route of administration.

"In addition, individual susceptibility to a given dose of a poison depends upon many things, including body weight, gender, age, and the ability to activate or deactivate a given poison through biotransformation (xenobiotic metabolism)," the expert said.

The same factors as the reason for different reaction of victims to the poisoning by the toxic substance were named by Dr. Hay.

The dose of nerve agent which Dawn Sturgess received may have been different from that which the Skripals had, as may the time before specific antidotes were given. Added to which, there may also been differences in the health status of the Skripals versus Dawn Sturgess," he said.

The expert stressed that a person in robust health would have a better chance of dealing with the poisoning and the received treatment.

Dr. Richardson noted that it was not possible to determine the specific nerve agent based only on symptoms of victims. He stressed that only a relatively sophisticated chemical analysis could identify the specific agent.

"The signs and symptoms described in these two recent cases could arise from poisoning by any inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)," the expert added.

Dr. Hay, in turn, said that all the signs and symptoms of the Amesbury incident victims fit nerve agent exposure, and that the treatment has been for nerve agent toxicity.

No opiates or other substances were found in patient samples to explain the symptoms," he added.

Summing up all reflections on why only one of four victims of the alleged affection by Novichok-type nerve agent has died, Dr. Richardson stated that all people are different and not everyone responds to a given poison in exactly the same way.

 

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The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that if the UK classifies the Salisbury and Amesbury cases, Moscow will interpret it as an attempt to hide the masterminds and perpetrators of these crimes.

Thu Jul 19, 2018 - Moscow: Russia to Regard UK's Move to Classify Salisbury, Amesbury Cases as Harboring of Criminals
Farsnews

Russia intends to exert political pressure on the UK side in Skripal case, Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko said, adding that "these are reports in the media, no official statements of the British side, unfortunately. I want to hear from Scotland Yard, from the Foreign Office. Many versions in the newspapers are not confirmed at the official level", Sputnik reported.

According to him, the embassy has repeatedly asked the British Foreign Ministry to confirm various versions, but hasn't received any substantive answers.

Yakovenko intends to meet with the new head of the British Foreign Ministry, Jeremy Hunt, and discuss bilateral relations and the Skripal case.

"I was just informed at the embassy that I received a letter from the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, where the new Foreign Minister sends me greetings, and I plan to resume my offer to meet with Foreign Minister Hunt and discuss Russian-British relations. I did not get such a meeting with the previous minister [Boris] Johnson, I think he did not have the opportunity to operate on certain data," Yakovenko said on the eve of the ambassadors' meeting.

In early March 2018, the Skripals were found unresponsive on a bench at a shopping mall in the British town of Salisbury after they were exposed to what UK experts claimed was the A234 nerve agent.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to a conclusion, saying that it was "highly likely that Russia was responsible for the act against Sergei and Yulia Skripal", something that was vehemently rejected by Moscow, which called the accusations "absurd".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, signaled Moscow's readiness to provide assistance in the probe, while at the same time stressing that Russia hadn't been provided with any specific facts proving its involvement in the Skripals' alleged poisoning.

London has refused to cooperate with Russia on the case, or provide samples of the substance allegedly used against the Skripal family.


19.07.2018 - UK Security Minister Dismisses Report on Skripal Poisoners as 'Wild Speculation'
UK Security Minister Dismisses Report on Skripal Poisoners as 'Wild Speculation'

Media reports appeared earlier in the day, saying that UK investigators claimed that they had identified the perpetrators behind the A234 nerve agent attack on the Skripals.

Commenting on the reports that police have identified Russians behind the Skripal poisoning, UK Security Minister Ben Wallace dubbed them as "ill-informed, wild speculation."

I think this story belongs in the 'ill-informed and wild speculation folder," Ben Wallace said on Twitter.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, if the UK classifies the Salisbury and Amesbury cases, Moscow will interpret it as an attempt to hide the masterminds and perpetrators of these crimes.

"These are reports in the media, no official statements of the British side, unfortunately. I want to hear from Scotland Yard, from the Foreign Office. Many versions in the newspapers are not confirmed at the official level," Yakovenko said.

According to him, the embassy has repeatedly asked the British Foreign Ministry to confirm various versions but hasn't received any substantive answers.

Alexander Yakovenko intends to meet with the new head of the British Foreign Ministry, Jeremy Hunt, and discuss bilateral relations and the Skripal case.

"I was just informed at the embassy that I received a letter from the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, where the new Foreign Minister sends me greetings, and I plan to resume my offer to meet with Foreign Minister Hunt and discuss Russian-British relations. I did not get such a meeting with the previous minister [Boris] Johnson, I think he did not have the opportunity to operate on certain data," Yakovenko said on the eve of the ambassadors' meeting.

 

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An alleged nerve toxin attack on the Skripals in Salisbury, UK might have been staged by current or former agents from Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), The Times has quoted detectives as saying.

20.07.2018 - UK Detectives Allege Russian Military Intel Staged Skripals' Poisoning - Reports
UK Detectives Allege Russian Military Intel Staged Skripals' Poisoning - Reports

They are looking into the GRU's alleged involvement as part of the probe into the Salisbury incident, the newspaper reported.

According to The Times, the detectives also do not exclude that another Russian intelligence agency might be behind the spraying of Skripal's house in March with the A-234 nerve agent from a perfume bottle, which was allegedly later found by the couple from Amesbury, located not far from Salisbury, almost four months later.

This comes amid a wave of speculation by the UK media about Moscow's alleged involvement in the Skripals' poisoning.

On Thursday, media reports quoted investigators as claiming that they had identified the perpetrators behind the A234 nerve agent attack, something that was then described by UK Security Minister Ben Wallace as "ill-informed and wild speculation."

Earlier, the Daily Mail quoted an intelligence source as saying that a woman may have been at the helm of a six-person group from Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate, who carried out an alleged chemical weapons attack on the Skripals.

The source said that "it makes sense that a female officer may have been part of the team, playing a key role."

Although the UK counter-terrorism office has repeatedly admitted that it had no evidence of a link between the Skripal case and the Amesbury incident, a number of senior UK officials, including Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson and Security Minister Ben Wallace
have pointed the finger at Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has vehemently denied Moscow's involvement in both the Salisbury and Amesbury incidents.

According to the Ministry, if the UK classifies the Salisbury and Amesbury cases, Moscow will interpret it as an attempt to hide the masterminds and perpetrators of these crimes.

At the same time, Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko made it clear that Russia intended to exert political pressure on the UK in the Skripal case.

Russia has consistently offered help in the probe into the Skripal case, stressing that it hadn't been provided with any specific facts proving its involvement in the Skripals' alleged poisoning.

London has refused to cooperate with Russia on the case, or provide samples of the substance allegedly used against the Skripals.

44-year-old Dawn Sturgess died in Amesbury on July 8, while her 45-year-old partner Charlie Rowley remains hospitalized.


20.07.2018 - Charlie Rowley Released From Hospital After Amesbury Incident
Charlie Rowley Released From Hospital After Amesbury Incident

Charlie Rowley, surviving victim of alleged poisoning in the UK city of Amesbury, has been discharged from hospital, Lorna Wilkinson, Director of Nursing, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said.

"I am pleased to confirm that earlier today, Charlie Rowley was discharged from hospital," she noted in a statement.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

 

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The couple from Amesbury – Charlie Rowley and the now-deceased Dawn Sturgess – was said to have picked up a perfume bottle allegedly containing a nerve agent, with Sturgess ostensibly spraying the substance on her wrists.

24.07.2018 - Amesbury Man Confesses He Gave 'Perfume Bottle' With 'Nerve Agent' to Girlfriend
Amesbury Man Confesses He Gave 'Perfume Bottle' With 'Nerve Agent' to Girlfriend

In an interview with The Sun, Charlie Rowley, who was discharged from hospital last week, with medics concluding that he was no longer in critical condition, spoke about Dawn Sturgess, who died a week after allegedly being exposed to a nerve agent.

“It’s amazing that I’m alive. In a way I feel lucky I survived but I’ve also lost so much. I’m feeling very low about Dawn. I remember finding a cosmetic bottle which I had picked up and gave it to Dawn as a present. I feel very sad about what happened to her, it’s awful and shocking. I was still on medication when they told me she passed away. I don’t think I will ever be able to get over it,” he said.

His brother Matthew earlier claimed that his sibling had told him about finding “something that looked like a perfume bottle,” which broke in Charlie’s hands after Dawn spayed its content on herself.

“He told me that they found something that looked like a perfume bottle. Dawn sprayed what was inside it on both her wrists and rubbed them together, like you do when you’re trying perfume. Charlie said she then gave the bottle to him and somehow it splintered or broke in his hands. That’s how he must have got contaminated,” Matthew told The Sunday Telegraph.

Nearly two weeks ago, the Metropolitan Police claimed they had discovered a “small bottle” during a search of Rowley’s house in Amesbury, adding that scientists have allegedly confirmed that the substance in the bottle was the nerve agent the UK authorities call Novichok.

 

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The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom on Tuesday urged London to provide Moscow with access to the materials of the Amesbury poisoning incident investigation, noting that UK authorities deliberately restrict communication of all victims of poisoning incidents with the outside world.

25.07.2018 - Russian Embassy in UK Urges London to Provide Access to Amesbury Incident Probe
Russian Embassy in UK Urges London to Provide Access to Amesbury Incident Probe

On Friday, the surviving victim of Amesbury poisoning incident, Charlie Rowley, was discharged from the hospital and is now under police surveillance.

"What happened with the UK citizen is not within the competence of the embassy and is not part of the scope of the Russian consular services. But because the UK police, politicians and media consistently link Amesbury incident to the Skripals case, the Russian side continues to insist on access to investigation, which is now being conducted 'behind closed doors,'" the embassy's spokesman said.

The diplomat referred to the victim's brother, Matthew Rowley, who said that Charlie was locked up in a separate room without access to news and deprived of the opportunity to go outside.

"The police gave him a phone and, of course, controls his conversations, which reminds us of the situation with Sergei and Julia Skripals, whom UK authorities hid from the UK and international public under far-fetched pretexts. It seems that patients were 'discharged' from the hospital with the main goal of not allowing their free communication with the outside world. This is an element of the general line of the UK authorities to classify information that could shed light on what really happened in Salisbury and Amesbury," he concluded.

 

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I will believe it - when it happens?

Yulia Skripal, who was allegedly poisoned alongside her father Sergei Skripal in the UK city of Salisbury in March, will return to Russia when the latter gets better, Yulia's cousin Viktoria Skripal told Sputnik on Thursday.

27.07.2018 - Yulia Skripal to Return to Russia When Her Father Gets Better, Cousin Says
Yulia Skripal to Return to Russia When Her Father Gets Better, Cousin Says

"[Yulia] said she was doing well and already had a connection to the Internet… She will return home when her father gets better," Viktoria said.

The phone conversation took place on Tuesday, when Sergei Skripal's mother was celebrating her 90th birthday. "She was very happy to hear that Sergei was okay," Viktoria stressed, adding that, according to Yulia, Sergei Skripal still had a respiratory tube in his trachea.

 

[Hesper]

Yulia Skripal, who was allegedly poisoned alongside her father Sergei Skripal in the UK city of Salisbury in March, will return to Russia when the latter gets better, Yulia's cousin Viktoria Skripal told Sputnik on Thursday.

So now that Yulia has a chance to speak out she says she wants to return to Russia - well that poses a few embarrassing problems for the UK, doesn't it? For one her newfound internet access suggests she did not have such access before, contrary to all claims by the British authorities. And, as soon as she gets access, she announces her desire to leave the UK when her father is better, which suggests any extended stay in the UK is against her will.

But, if she's allowed to move back, she'll be able to share her version of events with Russian media and authorities. I sure hope that happens, and it gets plastered all over RT and Sputnik.

 

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UK police believe that two groups from Russia were hired to organize and carry out the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March, the Mirror reported Sunday.

29.07.2018 - UK Police Believe 2 Groups From Russia Organized Poisoning of Skripals - Reports
UK Police Believe 2 Groups From Russia Organized Poisoning of Skripals - Reports

British counterterrorism police are currently working on a version that one group came to the United Kingdom weeks before the poisoning to set up the operation, and the second team arrived to carry out the attack with a nerve agent, the Mirror reported, citing investigators.


29.07.2018 - No Proof of Russian Hand in Skripal Poisoning - German MP
No Proof of Russian Hand in Skripal Poisoning – German MP

The reverberations from the Skripal affair, with all its extraordinary twists and turns, show no sign of ending.

Four months after the nerve gas poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, UK, investigators are still groping in the dark without any definitive leads.

Neither British nor German intelligence agencies have any proof of Russia’s alleged role in the nerve gas poisoning of the former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, German MP Heike Henzel has told Junge Welt.

According to Henzel, the German authorities’ failure to present hard proof obtained from London of Moscow’s involvement in the Skripal case only means that Russia was not involved.

Neither has the German government responded to a request whether the country’s intelligence service has obtained samples of the A-234 nerve agent allegedly used in the March 4 attack on the Skripals.

Two groups of people were reportedly involved in the attack on the Skripals, The Mirror wrote, citing investigators. According to the newspaper, the first group allegedly brought the nerve agent Novichok to Britain, while the second actually used it against the Skripals.

The investigators don’t think that the bottle later found by a local resident not far from the site of the Salisbury incident could have been used as a container for the nerve agent. They believe that another such bottle might be found elsewhere in Britain and pose a serious risk.

According to earlier reports, a witness in the ongoing investigation into the poisoning of two Britons in Amesbury had recognized one suspect; that of a 6-foot-tall man about 30 years of age shown to him by investigators.

Charlie Rowley, one of the two Britons who suffered from the effects of Novichok late last month, said that he had picked up a bottle of what he thought was perfume which allegedly contained the Novichok nerve agent in a park in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on June 30, and presented it to his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, who later died in hospital.

The 66-year-old former Russian intelligence officer Sergei and his daughter Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping mall in Salisbury on March 4.

British authorities almost immediately blamed the attack on Russia, who has consistently denied the charge, pointing to the complete absence of evidence linking it to the March 4 incident.

In the wake of the Salisbury incident, the US, Canada and several European nations, including France, Germany, Italy and Poland, expelled over 100 Russian diplomats.

Russia retaliated by sending home an equal number of Western diplomatic staff.

 

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04.08.2018 - Moscow Notes New Inconsistencies in Amesbury Incident Probe
Moscow Notes New Inconsistencies in Amesbury Incident Probe

The Russian Embassy in London on Friday pointed to a number of inconsistencies between the UK authorities’ repeated assurances that the Amesbury incident poses no threat to the wider public and their precautionary measures toward the incident-related sites taken a month after the alleged poisoning.

"On one hand, the Public Health England has on a number of occasions advised that the risk to the public remains low while, on the other hand, police have stepped up their search for the nerve agent even at places that have never been visited by the victims … This further obfuscates the situation around the incidents, and complicates the life of local residents, who are being continuously frightened by the so-called ‘Novichok’ and by Russia. It is time that the British authorities bring clarity into the situation guided not by the alleged ‘Russian threat’, but the interests of its people," the embassy said.

The embassy also questioned the effectiveness of such precautionary measures taken a month after the poisoning, noting that they only alarm people.

On Wednesday, Wiltshire Police, for several hours, closed the Wiltshire air ambulance base involved in the initial response to the Amesbury incident as a precautionary measure "to ensure that no onward contamination had taken place."

Media, however, reported that the Amesbury victims had been taken to hospital in a regular ambulance, suggesting that the staff could have later used the ambulance aircraft. Over the recent days, UK authorities have also cordoned off a number of areas in Salisbury, which are believed to be visited by the victims a day before the incident.


01.08.2018 - Russian Embassy in UK: Rapid Cremation of Amesbury Victim Raises Concerns
Russian Embassy in UK: Rapid Cremation of Amesbury Victim Raises Concerns

A hurried cremation of UK national Dawn Sturgess, poisoned in Amesbury earlier this month, confirms the UK authorities are continuing to destroy evidence related to the Skripal affair, a source at the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom told Sputnik.

"The hurried cremation of Sturgess excludes any possibility of further investigation if, for example, new facts in the case would require the second examination or re-examination of primary data on the causes of death of the UK national. This is a serious cause for concern because the UK authorities continue to destroy any important physical evidence which they themselves somehow link with the poisoning of the Skripal family in Salisbury," the source said.

Sturgess was cremated on Monday after passing away in a hospital on July 8 as a reult of being exposed to an unknown substance.

 

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04.08.2018 - Almost All 'Salisbury Case' Evidence Being Destroyed - Russian Envoy to UK
Almost All 'Salisbury Case' Evidence Being Destroyed - Russian Envoy to UK

Almost all evidence is being destroyed during the UK investigation into the Salisbury poisoning case, Russian Ambassador in London Alexander Yakovenko said on Saturday.

"Almost all evidence is being destroyed. In case if there is a need to check something, there will be no such opportunity," Yakovenko said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

The diplomat added that Russian investigators were ready to go to the United Kingdom to carry out a joint investigation into the case.

Our investigators are ready because we want to understand what is going on. I am not sure that the UK side will agree on our proposals at some stage but they [proposals] are on the table," he stressed.

 

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The US Department of State earlier announced new sanctions on Russia over accusations of chemical weapons having been used by Moscow against former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom.

12.08.2018 - Lavrov: Accusations Against Russia in Skripals Poisoning Absurb
Lavrov: US Accusations Against Russia in Skripals Poisoning Absurd

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called the US State Department's accusations of Moscow's involvement in the Skripal case absurd.

"… I think everyone who is even slightly familiar with the so-called Skripal case, understands the absurdity of the statement contained in the State Department's official document; that the US has established that it is Russia that is guilty of the Salisbury incident," Lavrov said, when answering journalists' questions.


08.08.2018 - UK Def Sec Accuses Russia of 'Malign Behavior', Hints at Skripal Poisoning Link
UK Def Sec Accuses Russia of 'Malign Behavior,' Hints at Skripal Poisoning Link

Russia poses a threat to continental Europe, Britain and many other countries around the world, UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson warned when addressing an Atlantic Council seminar in Washington on Tuesday.

"In 2015, when we evaluated the situation in the world, we declared that Russia was a threat. I think the experience that the world has acquired since 2015 shows that it poses a threat not only to Great Britain, or to continental Europe but to the many other countries of the world,” Williamson said.

He described Russia as being “increasingly aggressive” and using its full military arsenal to pursue its interests.

"We see a growing competition between states. A terror-sponsoring Iran, a nuclear- armed North Korea, not forgetting to mention a rising China, an increasingly aggressive Russia using every weapon at its disposal to advance its interests. A Russia whose use of covert operations and cyber warfare, political subversion and increased military posturing is part of a wider pattern of malign behavior,” Williamson noted.

He also hinted about Moscow’s alleged use of military-grade chemicals on British soil.

“[We’ve seen] the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since the Second World War. It demonstrates the fact that dangers are diversifying with states adopting the tactics of terrorists and terrorists increasingly armed with more sophisticated weapons, including cyber capabilities, all blowing the line between peace and conflict. It’s clear: we are in a new age of intertwined dangers,” he continued.

On June 30, two Britons, Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, were rushed to a hospital in Amesbury, in critical condition after being exposed to what the UK authorities called "Novichok", the same nerve agent that allegedly struck down former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in neighboring Salisbury in early March.

A number of high-ranking UK officials, including Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson and Security Minister Ben Wallace, have claimed that the poison came from Russia, though no evidence supporting the claims has ever been presented.

Russia has strongly denied any involvement in either incident, dismissing all allegations as groundless. It has also offered Britain assistance in the investigation which was later turned down by London.


(Note: Some background on UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson ... )
Gavin Williamson - God help us all.pic.twitter.com/0LJ3jaJ7II

15.03.2018 - 'Russia Should Go Away and Shut Up' - UK Defense Minister Gavin Williamson
'Russia Should Go Away and Shut Up' - UK Defense Minister Gavin Williamson

Speaking in Bristol on March 15, the British Defense Minister commented on what Russian might do in retaliation to the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats from the UK. "Russia should go away and should shut up. But the government will consider what it does. It would be wrong to prejudge it," he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has commented on Williamson's tough statement, saying that it shows that Britain's partners are worried and London has things to hide.

"Highly Likely that the Secretary of Defense of Great Britain said: 'Russia should not take retaliatory measures, but withdraw and shut up.' And what else can the Defense Minister of a country — which conceals the circumstances of the use of chemical agents on its territory and does not want to transfer available information, as required by the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — say? London has something to hide. Their partners are nervous," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated.

The Russian Defense Ministry, in its turn, has also addressed this strident call, saying that it proves the voidness of UK's accusations against Russia.

"The rhetoric demonstrated today by the head of the British defense ministry Gavin Williamson is remarkable for his extreme degree of intellectual impotence," spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said.

According to the spokesman, Moscow grown used to fake news that demonizes the country and "has strong immunity against it."

During his first keynote speech since becoming Defense Secretary last year, Williamson has outlined the threats faced by the UK, modernization of the Defense Program, further investments in the armed forces, and the British response to the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

One of the questions posed to Williamson by a reporter in the audience was: "Russia has said it will expel British diplomats from Moscow. Has the UK got a further package of measures it could unleash in response? And could this include a military response?"

Williamson assumed the post of the Defense Sec in November 2017 and his nomination by the UK PM Theresa May came as something of a surprise, since Williamson has no military background.

Williamson spoke of the "Russian threat," a subject he had already raised earlier this year, when he warned of a Russian attack on British infrastructure that could kill "thousands" in an attempt to align himself with more experienced counterparts.

"If we doubted the threat Russia poses to our citizens, we only have to look at the shocking example of their reckless attack in Salisbury," Mr. Williamson said on Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on UK accusations against Russia in relation to the Skripal poisoning case, saying:

"Russia perceives the position taken up by UK authorities with great bewilderment and incomprehension… The accusations are groundless. Moreover, these accusations were voiced before any information about the substance used emerged, which shows the presence of all signs of a provocation against Russia," Peskov told reporters.

Million-Dollar Investment - Williamson also pointed out that the "chemical threat doesn't just come from Russia but from others," which then led to the announcement of a sizable investment in a new chemical weapons defense center.

But we have world-class expertise at Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) Porton Down and today I can announce we will be strengthening this capability by investing £48m (($67 million) in a new Chemical Weapons Defense Centre to ensure we maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defense."

Porton Down is located only a few miles from Salisbury, where the former intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter collapsed on March 4. The chemical weapon laboratory of the British military is where the toxin in Skripal's case has been identified as 'Novichok'.


Tom Stokes @_irishrepublic

Shocking that the fiendish Russians brought nerve gas to Salisbury. Did they not know that there are huge stockpiles of it just 8 miles up the road in Porton Down, Britain's very own chemical weapons manufacturing facility. 40,000 people live in Salisbury. Now that is shocking.
6:34 PM - Mar 12, 2018


G H Neale @GHNeale
Porton Down is one of the few places in the world there are stockpiles of Novichok. Salisbury is less than five miles away. #justsaying
7:52 AM - Mar 15, 2018

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd will hold a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, Cobra, on Skripal's case, a source familiar with the government told Sputnik on Thursday. According to the source, relations with Russia will also be discussed.


15.03.2018 - 'Prepubescent Schoolboy': UK Defense Sec Mocked by Twitterians for Russia Remark
'Prepubescent Schoolboy': UK Defense Sec Mocked by Twitterians for Russia Remark

"Good to know we're ruled by sensible grown-ups, eh?" and "Feel safer already?" are just some of the reactions by social media users in response to a bullish remark on Russia by the UK Defense Minister Gavin Williamson.

Britain's new Defense Minister raised eyebrows on March 15, when following an official speech, he replied to a reporter's question on Britain's actions in relation to the case of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal:

"What we will do is look at what Russia responds to what we have done. It's absolutely atrocious what Russia did in Salisbury. We have responded to that. Frankly, Russia should go away and should shut up. But if they do respond to the action we have taken, we will considerate it carefully and we will look at our options but it would be wrong to prejudge our response."

Commentators on Twitter reacted swiftly, criticizing Williamson for his inadequate and "childish" commentary on the ongoing political and diplomatic confrontation between Britain and Russia.


[URL='https://twitter.com/Muqadaam']Nadeem Ahmed @Muqadaam
Gavin Williamson is a threat to our defence and national security. Time for him to shut up and resign.
8:13 AM - Mar 15, 2018


benhunt @benhunt
· Mar 15, 2018

This government continues not to shock and surprise with its abject incompetence. We now have people in charge of the nation's defence that you wouldn't want to put in charge of building a small house with large Lego bricks. https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/974250503252066304 …

Gordon McIntosh #FBPE @Gordy_Mc1ntosh

Gavin Williamson is an example of the depth of talent currently in power in the Conservative party, he would be out of his depth in a child's paddling pool, which is where his comments belong.
8:14 AM - Mar 15, 2018​

​

(((Dan Hodges))) ✔ @DPJHodges

Gavin Williamson is a child. The greatest security threat since the war, and we have a pre-pubescent schoolboy in charge of our armed forces.
8:24 AM - Mar 15, 2018


(Note: For a deeper look into the circumstances surrounding the Skripal case, it's possible motives and the "highly likely" perpetuators in the chemical poisonings - Please check out the article below: )

7 August 2018 - How Putin and Trump put an end to the war against Syria
How Putin and Trump put an end to the war against Syria, by Thierry Meyssan
[/URL]

 

[angelburst29]

Last week ‒ just a month after a successful, friendly Helsinki summit meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‒ the United States announced it would be enacting harsh new sanctions against Russia to take effect August 22 as a punishment for the alleged use of chemical weapons on UK soil.

14.08.2018 - As Sanctions Loom, Salisbury Residents Question Skripal Poisoning Narrative
As Sanctions Loom, Salisbury Residents Question Skripal Poisoning Narrative

(Long article that goes over the timeline of the Skripal poisoning and is basically - a rehash of the information - already logged in this thread.)


14.08.2018 - Lack of Access to Skripals Heightens Suspicions About Forced Isolation - Embassy
Lack of Access to Skripals Heightens Suspicions About Forced Isolation - Embassy

London's denial of public access to Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were allegedly subjected to a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March, for over five months increases suspicions about their forced isolation, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in London said Tuesday.

The spokesman stressed that for almost half a year the Russian citizens have been deprived of contacts with relatives, friends, journalists, Russian official representatives, as well as freedom of movement.

"London persists in refusing our contacting [the Skripals] in order to make sure that they are not being pressured by the [UK] authorities. This only increases suspicions about the Skripals' forced isolation or the inconsistency between their real condition and the one that is being officially declared," the spokesman told reporters.

According to the Russian Embassy, journalists also cannot gain access to the Skripals without prior approval by the authorities, which may indicate that the issue is being censored in the United Kingdom.

 

[angelburst29]

Russia has nothing to do with the incident in Salisbury, where former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned, and wants to cooperate with the investigation to punish the perpetrators, but expects London to provide evidence on the case, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko said in an interview.

17.08.2018 - Russian Envoy to UK: Moscow Wants to Help in Salisbury Probe, Waits for Evidence
Russian Envoy to UK: Moscow Wants to Help in Salisbury Probe, Waits for Evidence

"We are together with the people of Salisbury… We want to cooperate on that matter in order to find the truth and in order to protect the life of Russian citizens… In the long term, we are expecting Britain will punish the ones who did it," the Russian diplomat told to local newspaper Salisbury Journal.

At the same time, Yakovenko noted that the amount of time spent on the investigation — about six months — put London in a "difficult position."

"From my point of view, certain things are being distorted. There are so many stories but no facts," he said, adding that Russia needed "results of the investigation" to find out what had really happened.

The ambassador refuted the statement of UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who announced Moscow's involvement in the incident, based on the alleged use of Soviet-developed poison agent A234, known as Novichok.

We said that any modern lab, all around the world, could make this type of poison," the diplomat said, adding that it might be UK-based Porton Down lab as well.

Solving the Salisbury problem is in the interests of both countries, and the work must be done jointly, he concluded.

The conversation took place at the ambassador's residence last week, when it became known that the United States was introducing new anti-Russian sanctions in connection with the Skripal case.

According to Yakovenko, the message of US President Donald Trump about this was a "gesture and political statement," as London failed to present any credible information to its allies.

 

[angelburst29]

August 19, 2018 - Russia's #1 Anchor Makes Very Convincing Case that British Intelligence Murdered Boris Berezovsky (Dmitry Kiselyov Video)
Russia's #1 Anchor Makes Very Convincing Case that British Intelligence Murdered Boris Berezovsky (Dmitry Kiselyov Video)

The miserable fate of a traitor and criminal.

Kiselyov does a great job here explaining who had the ultimate motive in eliminating Berezovsky.

The man was a repugnant con-artist, criminal and murderer, who most likely murdered the American Forbes editor Paul Khlebnikov in Moscow in 2004. He was the epitome of the Jewish mafia that Putin ran out of the country in the early 2000s.

He fled to the UK, and conspired with British Intelligence to fight Russia and Putin at all costs, and was murdered by them when they realized he knew too much.

Transcript:

Dmitry Kiselyov:
Back to serious news. The main crime story related to Great Britain this week was a long interview with Boris Berezovsky's eldest daughter Elizaveta, published by a Ukrainian news agency, Gordon. Boris Berezovsky, a fugitive Russian oligarch, was one of the most influential people in the Kremlin in the 1990s. He used to be one of Putin's bitter enemies, but, at the end of his life, Berezovsky reconsidered a lot of his views. While living in London, he cooperated with British special forces.

Berezovsky was talented and extremely resourceful when it came to planning any kind of provocation. In a way, he was a gambler: He admitted to investing over $50 million in the Ukrainian Orange Revolution. His name also came up in the alleged poisoning of Litvinenko who was exposed to radioactive polonium. The poisoning may have been staged in order to frame the Russian government. To do a dramatic photo shoot, Berezovsky even told to shave Litvinenko's head, like, exposed to radiation, the victim even lost his hair. The photo was spread around the world and the scandal was a success. Although even Judge Owen couldn't accuse the Kremlin of poisoning Litvinenko in his final judgment.

Berezovsky spent the last six months of his life quietly.He avoided reporters and retired to Ascot, a small, quiet place far away from London. The ex-oligarch stayed in his ex-wife's house, passing the time by reflecting on who he was, why, and whether he should return to "Mother Russia".

In Russia, however, he would have faced a number of fraud and money laundering charges. He had also been sentenced in absentia to thirteen years of imprisonment. But he couldn't stop thinking of Russia. Berezovsky's fatal mistake was that he began sharing those thoughts with others. If so, then that explains why British special forces may have wanted him dead. Berezovsky also sent Putin two letters, asking for forgiveness and permission to return to Russia.​

In the eyes of British special forces, by such a twist he crossed the line. Berezovsky knew too much about them. And then what happened happened. In March of 2013, Berezovsky was found dead on his bathroom floor, with a ligature mark on his neck. Berezovsky's ripped scarf lied next to his body.

So was it a suicide or a homicide? In Great Britain, a coroner is an official who investigates unexplained deaths. Such an official was appointed to clarify the circumstances behind Berezovsky's death. But the coroner recorded an open verdict, which means the cause of Berezovsky's death remained unclear.

Recently, Boris Berezovsky's eldest daughter Liza gave an interview, in which she convincingly showed that her father died through violence, that is he was killed. Liza doesn't trust the British police, who have been keeping an eye on her, or any of those British experts who insisted in court that suicide was the cause of her father's death. Ever since then, she's been under surveillance by British special forces.

Elizaveta Berezovskaya: "After my father died, my cell phone started having issues. Also, over the first few days, I couldn't use my email at all: my screen kept jumping around. Of course, I went to the police, but they swore they had nothing to do with it and couldn't figure out what was wrong."

The day her father died, Liza also got to experience poisoning-related lies that London likes to use: she wasn't allowed in the house.

Elizaveta Berezovskaya: "I took a cab and went to my Dad's house. A large territory starting far away from the house was blocked. I introduced myself, but they didn't let me in. As it turned out later, there was a false alarm that the territory was contaminated with chemical materials. That's why, for a long time, they didn't let anyone inside.”

Liza Berezovskaya might have never found out what happened to her father, had it not been for one of the best forensic pathologists she happened to come across. The German specialist joined an independent investigation on Liza's behalf.

Bernd Brinkmann made a name for himself when, 15 years after the crime was committed, he managed to prove that Roberto Calvi, chairman of a large, private Italian bank, Banco Ambrosiano, was strangled by the murderers and then hanged beneath a bridge in London.

It was an interesting crime story. Roberto Calvi wasn't a regular man. He was in charge of the Vatican's finances and knew about the Holy See's secret affairs. And then, suddenly, he "hanged" himself in London. The story even became part of Coppola's movie "The Godfather".

Then Berezovsky sort of "hanged" himself, too. As if in a movie that has been re-winded, the perfect English setup gets ruined by the same German forensic pathologist, professor Bernd Brinkmann.

Elizaveta Berezovskaya: "Professor Brinkmann tuned out to be very nice and interesting, and we immediately found common ground. I speak German well. On the one hand, it's pretty useless because all Germans speak good English. But on the other hand, all of them brighten up when you start speaking to them in German. We then found out that our birthdays fell on the same day. Long story short, we have a lot in common. I brought him the papers; professor Brinkmann made some copies so as to go over everything later.

After that, he disappeared for a while. I waited, then called him. He said: "Liza, where have you been? There's nothing here that says it was a suicide. You need to get here now!" I came there for the second time. He broke down the differences between a murder and a suicide for me. My medical degree came in handy. There are a lot of differences, including the shape of a ligature mark, the reaction of various organs and tissues and other indicators.”

There's more. Brinkmann noticed that although there were no visible signs of a violent struggle, the murderer may have attacked Berezovsky from behind and begun to strangle him immediately. The body also had a fractured rib. It was then found that English police hadn't even bothered with crime scene reconstruction and focused only on the theory of Berezovsky committing a suicide.

Elizaveta Berezovskaya: "Having read all the papers, I had a lot of questions to my father's security guard. For some reason, that unfortunate morning, the guard decided to sleep in, although my Dad usually woke up early. Then the guard talked to his wife on the phone for a long time, then he went to get coffee, then he went to the pharmacy to get some cold medicine, then he went to get groceries...

He returned by 3 pm. The housekeepers were away because it was Saturday and they had a day off. All of this seems very suspicious to me.” Another guard, Avi, also raised suspicion.

Elizaveta Berezovskaya: "It turned out that, before leaving, Avi wouldn't activate the alarm system. According to him, my father didn't ask him to do so. Also, all the cameras were off because my father never asked Avi to turn them on. But he shouldn't ask: your job was to ensure his safety!”

The verdict in court was different from the one British special forces were hoping to hear.

Elizaveta Berezovskaya: "The coroner recorded an open verdict. Despite the fact that all the English experts insisted on accepting the suicide theory, professor Brinkmann, who was the last to make a statement, played a decisive role. He presented an unanswerable case. Honestly, at first, I didn't think it would be possible to break the system.

A German specialist presented a case on his own, in a court full of English experts. I also think that the coroner was brave to admit that professor Brinkmann's case cast reasonable doubt.”

There's another detail Elizaveta Berezovskaya finds important. Her father died on Saturday. On Monday, he was planning to go to Israel to stay there. Berezovsky wasn't going to return to Britain, which left little time for his murder. Once the decision was made, the killer had to act.

Published on Aug 14, 2018 (8:44 min.)