Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia pictured in Salisbury Zizzi restaurant at heart of poison plot
A FORMER double agent and his daughter pose in the Zizzi restaurant at the centre of a Russian spy poisoning probe.
Sergei Skripal, 66, and Yulia, 33, are pictured in the same Italian where they had lunch shortly before they were found slumped unconscious on a shopping centre bench.
The pair are fighting for life while a police officer - who was the first cop on site - remains seriously ill following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, Wilts, on Sunday.
Counter terror cops are investigating the possibility that Kremlin-linked assassins slipped deadly sarin nerve gas into Sergei's present as daughter Yulia prepared to fly over from Moscow days earlier.
Another theory being probed is that the gas was sprayed into their faces or slipped into their drinks in Zizzi or the Mill pub.
Sergei and Yulia raise a glass for the camera at Zizzi in a picture believed to have been taken in 2016.
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
- Two of the 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
- Cops believe the poison may have been slipped into a gift Yulia brought from Moscow
- 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
More pictures of the dad and daughter have emerged today.
Meanwhile, dramatic photos show the moment a police officer crouched down next to the shopping centre bench where the pair were found in "catatonic" state.
“I think it could be more positive [for Yulia]. They are hopeful that she might be able to pull through."
The police officer’s condition is thought to be less severe than the other two patients.
The Russian pair were "targeted specifically" when they were dosed by a deadly nerve agent, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley confirmed yesterday.
All the sites involved in the investigation are now secured - but a police presence may stay in Salisbury for at least a couple of days, Mr Rowley added.
Last night security sources told The Sun that the poison could only have been produced in a handful of labs worldwide - including the Russian government's notorious Yasenevo complex.
Tory MP and ex-Army officer Bob Seely said: “In my mind now, there is now no doubt this was a hit ordered by Putin, and by using something complex they’re effectively showing off.
“We’re now in public execution territory. The Russians are basically saying, they don’t care who knows it was them. It is a very alarming development.”
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.”
It comes as a fellow Russian exile Valery Morozov claimed that Skripal was not retired - and regularly met with Kremlin officials at the Russian Embassy.
He told Channel 4 News: “If you have a military intelligence officer living after retirement in the UK every month going to the embassy to meet military intelligence officers.
"For me being political refugee, I thought that this contact might not be very good for me because it can bring some questions from British officials."