Ultra-rare nerve agent used to poison spy ‘points finger at Putin’, say spooks
SERGEI Skripal was poisoned by a very rare nerve agent which only a few laboratories in the world could have produced, security sources have told The Sun.
One is the Yasenevo lab, run by Russia’s SVR spy service on Moscow’s outskirts.
It comes as a policeman who raced to help stricken ex-spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia is in a coma.
It is feared he either breathed in the toxic nerve agent used to poison the pair or brushed against it on their skin or clothing.
The officer was the first to respond to calls for help after passers-by spotted Skripal, 66, and Yulia, 33, slumped on a bench in Salisbury, Wilts.
The UK’s senior anti-terror police chief yesterday said tests revealed a nerve agent had been used to poison the pair, who are also in comas.
What we know so far:
- Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
- Police say they were deliberately targeted with a rare nerve agent
- The first Wiltshire Police officer on the scene is also ill in hospital - but hopes were raised for his recovery now he is awake and talking
- All three victims are said to be in comas
- A blonde woman with a red handbag is being hunted after being caught on CCTV minutes before the hit
- Spooks believe the Russians may have had their drinks spiked in a pub or a Zizzi's restaurant
- Skripal was poisoned by a very rare nerve agent which only a few laboratories in the world could have produced
- It was claimed Yulia Skripal may have been poisoned after calling for Putin to be jailed on Facebook
- Boris Johnson urged royals to boycott the Russian World Cup in retaliation
The revelation added weight to claims Skripal, a former double agent who sold secrets to MI6, had been targeted by Russian assassins in a Kremlin-sanctioned revenge attack.
Met Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: “This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder.
“Having established that a nerve agent is the cause, I can also confirm we believe the two people were targeted specifically.”
Experts said the nerve agent could only be produced by a handful of labs in the world.
A chemical weapons expert said the hit in Salisbury bore all the hallmarks of a sarin attack.
The fast-acting toxin can be sprayed into a victim’s face or dripped into food or water.
A droplet the size of a pin head can kill.
Skripal and Yulia ate lunch at a Zizzi restaurant then went to The Mill pub before they collapsed.
It is thought their food or drink could have been spiked in either place — or an attacker may have sprayed them with a toxin.
Terror timeline
SUNDAY 1pm: Sergei Skripal and Yulia leave home to walk into Salisbury city centre.
1.30pm: They lunch at Zizzi restaurant.
2.45pm: Pair arrive at nearby The Mill pub.
3.47pm: Mystery man and a woman are seen on CCTV nearby.
4.15pm: Cops respond to pair collapsed on bench at shopping centre.
MONDAY 11am: Major incident declared at Salisbury hospital as cops are also treated for suspected poisoning.
TUESDAY afternoon: Theresa May meets heads of MI5 and MI6. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says incident may have repercussions for Russia World Cup.
WEDNESDAY afternoon: Police say nerve agent was used to poison pair.
Last night cops were said to be probing whether Yulia, visiting her father from Russia, unwittingly brought the nerve agent with her.
A source told The Times she had brought a "gift from friends".
The lives of ex-Colonel Skripal and daughter Yulia may yet be saved by their closeness to government lab Porton Down, which is just outside Salisbury.
It stockpiles atropine, an antidote for nerve agents.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, ex- commander of the Army’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, said: “All the circumstances point in the direction of sarin.
“It’s very toxic and the symptoms displayed tally with its effects.”
Mr de Bretton-Gordon said the assassin may have targeted Skripal alone — with Yulia contaminated as she went to help her dad when he collapsed.
He said it required huge resources to make sarin, which is why it is usually only state-produced.
What is toxic nerve agent?
By John Lucas
LETHAL nerve agents can be absorbed by touch and by breathing, or food and drink can be spiked.
Developed by military scientists, they include sarin and VX.
North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un’s half-brother was killed last year after being exposed to VX.
Symptoms include respiratory arrest and heart failure but the risk to the wider public from lingering small doses is low.
In 1994 the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult did manage to carry out a sarin attack in Japan, killing 12.
But Mr de Bretton-Gordon said: “The Tokyo attackers took two years to make a just litre of the stuff.
"You don’t just knock up sarin in your shed. You need a Porton Down-style facility to make it, you need state-sponsored facilities.
“The use of a nerve agent points firmly to a professional.”
Sarin was used by Syrian dictator President Assad, killing more than 1,500 rebels in 2013.
It was also used by Saddam Hussein to kill 5,000 Kurds in Halabja, Iraq in 1988.
Skripal was jailed in Moscow in 2006 for passing secrets to MI6. But he was freed in aspy swap in 2010 and came to the UK to retire in Salisbury.
THE IMMEDIATE SIGNS A PERSON HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO SARIN GAS
Sarin is a clear and colourless gas, so people may not know they have been exposed.
Those exposed to a low or medium dose of sarin gas by breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water or touching a contaminated surface may experience symptoms within seconds, according to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention in the US (CDC).
In others it may take hours for symptoms to appear.
hose who have been exposed may experience:
- runny nose
- watery eyes
- small pupils
- eye pain
- blurred vision
- drooling and excessive sweating
- a cough
- tightness in the chest
- rapid breathing
- diarrhoea
- nausea and vomiting
- weeing more often
- confusion
- drowsiness
- weakness
- headache
- slow or fast heart rate
- low or high blood pressure
Exposure to larger amounts of the nerve agent can have much more harmful, if not fatal, effects.
People may experience:
- loss of consciousness
- convulsions
- paralysis
- respiratory failure leading to death
But locals yesterday claimed he may still have been working for MI6.
Skripal had regular meetings with a well-dressed Englishman in Salisbury’s Cote Brasserie restaurant and spoke about “business” trips to Poland.
A restaurant source said the pair always sat at the same table and switched seamlessly between English and Russian.
She added: “The Englishman always wore a tweed suit and they changed between Russian and English as they spoke.”
Another source added: “This English guy could have been his handler.”
Despite evidence of Kremlin involvement, ministers will not make a direct accusation against President Putin until they can be sure of the facts.
Russia continues to deny any involvement.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd will today make a Commons statement to reassure the public over the nerve agent threat.
- A WOMAN was taken by police and paramedics from offices next to Zizzi in Salisbury yesterday. Her firm later said: “There’s nothing to worry about.”