NOT OVER
Theresa May warns Putin the UK will go further if Russia doesn’t stop ‘provocations’ as leaders stand together with unprecedented statement
THERESA MAY today warned Vladimir Putin that the UK could hit back harder if Russia issues "further provocations" in the wake of the spy poisoning scandal.
The PM was speaking after the leaders of Britain, the US, France and Germany vowed to stand together in the face of aggression from Vladimir Putin.
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Mrs May, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel issued an unprecedented statement saying Russia's attack on a spy in Salisbury "threatens the security of us all".
The Prime Minister today visited the city where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by a Russian nerve agent.
She warned: "There will be other measures we will be taking, looking at extra powers that we can take in relation to hostile state activity.
"If we face further provocation from Russia, there are other measures we can deploy."
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In other developments today:
- Russia's foreign minister said British diplomats would be expelled in revenge for Mrs May kicking 23 Kremlin spies out of the UK
- The country's officials called Britain "boorish" and "insane" for its tough stance
- They accused the West of staging the attack on Mr Skripal to discredit Russia
- Relatives suggested Yulia, 33, may have been the poisoners' real target
- Boris Johnson confirmed England WILL play in the World Cup this summer
The PM has been speaking to health officials working to protect the public from the deadly poison used in the attack on Salisbury.
She told a police officer: "You had no idea what you were dealing with. Thank you - what you did was what police do day in and day out."
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One passer-by was heard shouting "We love you Theresa" as she went to the Mill pub where the Skripals ate before collapsing last week.
The PM also saw the bench where the ex-spy and his daughter were found as she met with police officers and local leaders on her walkabout.
The four powerful world leaders said in their statement: "We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK, on March 4, 2018.
"A British police officer who was also exposed in the attack remains seriously ill, and the lives of many innocent British citizens have been threatened.
"We express our sympathies to them all, and our admiration for the UK police and emergency services for their courageous response.
Theresa May fist bumps a member of public during visit to Salisbury
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"This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.
"It is an assault on UK sovereignty and any such use by a state party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all.
"The United Kingdom briefed thoroughly its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack.
"We share the UK assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia's failure to address the legitimate request by the UK government further underlines its responsibility."
The unprecedented joint statement is a massive coup for Mrs May, after days of rallying friendly leaders to present a united response to Russian aggression.
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The PM said: "I welcome the statement we've been able to make today with the United States, France and Germany - the support from our allies.
"We've been very clear in attributing this act to Russia, it is right that the UK Government reacts in a robust way to what has happened here in Salisbury.
"This happened in the UK but it could have happened anywhere and we take a united stance against it."
Speaking in the White House today, Mr Trump said: "I spoke with the Prime Minister and we are in deep discussions. A very sad situation.
"It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it - something that should never, ever happen."
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Later a group of 40 US congressmen wrote to Theresa May pledging to back her as she takes on Putin.
The politicians, a mixture of Republicans and Democrats, said: "This brazen assault on British sovereignty potentially threatened the lives of hundreds of Britons, and was highly likely carried out on the orders of the Russian government.
"The United Kingdom is the closest ally of the United States and you have our full support in responding to this act of aggression."
This morning Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said that allegations Vladimir Putin is behind the attempted hit were "insane".
She added: "After the United Kingdom announced unfriendly actions against Russia, retaliatory measures must be taken, as the Russian foreign ministry stated yesterday.
"They are currently under consideration and will be taken in the near future."
Alex Salmond blasted for refusing to quit chat show on Putin's propaganda channel RT
FORMER SNP boss Alex Salmond has refused to quit Kremlin propaganda channel RT despite the brazen attack on an ex-spy in Salisbury.
The ex-First Minister said the attempted hit on Sergei Skripal was a "heinous crime" - but insisted he has no reason to leave the Russian-owned channel which broadcasts his chat show.
Speaking on the show last night, Mr Salmond said: "I hold no brief from the Kremlin, nor am I required to have.
"No one has tried to influence the contents of this show in any way, shape or form whatsoever."
He also insisted that banning RT - which is funded by Putin's regime - would be a "mockery of freedom of speech".
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson blasted Mr Salmond, saying: “The way the Russian state seeks to interfere in the affairs of this country is completely unacceptable.
“Part of that operation is the broadcasting of Russia Today which, by its own admission, seeks to undermine Western democracy."
And Menzies Campbell, former Lib Dem leader, added: "I think Mr Salmond really ought to reconsider his position."
Some SNP activists warned Mr Salmond his refusal to quit RT undermined the cause of Scottish independence.
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And the foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said British diplomats would "definitely" be thrown out of Russia, adding that the revenge measures will take place "very soon".
In a furious rant, he blasted the "absolutely boorish" allegations made against Russia and said that Vladimir Putin would personally sign off the country's response.
Mr Lavrov said: "Proposals will be prepared in the foreign ministry, other departments, but the final decision, of course, will be made by the president of the Russian Federation."
But he added that Britain would be told about Putin's decision in private before the revenge measures are made public.
And he made the bizarre claim that Mrs May is ramping up the row in order to distract from Brexit negotiations - or to get the World Cup taken away from Russia.
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Hitting back at the regime, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "Frankly Russia should go away and shut up."
He said Russia and the West are engaged in a "cool war", adding: "Let’s face it. Relations ain’t good are they? It’s feeling exceptionally, exceptionally chilly at the moment."
Last night a former Putin spokesman, Evgenny Primakov Jr, said relations between Russia and the West are now worse than during the Cold War.
He accused Britain or America of staging the attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal in a bid to discredit Putin, telling the Daily Telegraph: "The idea is to make our election look illegitimate."
And Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya compared the UK to a character from Sherlock Holmes.
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Speaking at a Security Council meeting, he said: "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the British classic, famed in his country and very popular in Russia, has a hapless character, Inspector LeStrade from Scotland Yard.
"He doesn't have the methods of deduction, he is not particularly smart. His role is to be the background for the extraordinary deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes.
"LeStrade latches on to something that is on the surface of a crime and is in a hurry to prove banal conclusions only to be overturned by Sherlock Holmes, who always finds what is behind the crime and what is the motive for it.
"I'm not saying people working at Scotland Yard today are not professional, God guard me from that, but I do think we could all benefit from having a Sherlock Holmes with us today."
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Theresa May announced yesterday that 23 so-called diplomats from Russia must leave Britain within a week after Mr Skripal was the victim of an assassination attempt in Salisbury.
She told MPs: “There is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian State was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter - and for threatening the lives of other British citizens in Salisbury, including Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey.”
But there was anger in the Commons when Jeremy Corbyn stood up to respond to the statement, after he refused for a second time to condemn the Kremlin.
Instead he claimed the deadly Novichok nerve agent could have been used by someone other than Russia.
Mr Corbyn faced open mutiny, with two senior Labour shadow cabinet members turning on him for refusing to join the almost unanimous Commons condemnation of Putin’s regime.
And Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told The Sun the comments were “sickening”, and Mr Corbyn himself “deluded”.
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This morning Mrs May spoke to Emmanuel Macron to secure his support for her backlash against Putin.
The French president said afterwards: "Everything leads us to believe that responsibility is in fact attributable to Russia.
"I will announce in the coming days the measures that we intend to take."
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Last night, Mr Macron's spokesman cast doubt on Russia's responsibility, suggesting that more evidence is still needed.
Ex-Nato boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on the whole of the West to unite against Russia, saying: "A collective response is very important.
"Anything short of full solidarity with the UK now will be considered a victory for the Kremlin."
PM Theresa May announces expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and calls nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal 'unlawful use of force'
Labour's links to Russia
JEREMY Corbyn sparked uproar this week with his repeated failure to condemn Vladimir Putin for the Sergei Skripal poisoning - but it should be no surprise given the Labour leader and his top team’s close links to Russia, writes Alain Tolhurst.
JEREMY CORBYN HIMSELF
Mr Corbyn has often blamed anyone other than Russia when it comes to aggression by Moscow, usually directing his ire towards Nato, which he said was “the father of the Cold War”.
In 2015 he also blamed the violence in the Crimea on the west, saying: “I am not condoning what Russia has done and is doing [in Ukraine].
“But everything has an equal and opposite reaction and so the more you build up Nato forces, the more of an excuse the Russians have.”
In 2014, as Russia invaded the Crimea Mr Corbyn wrote in an article for the communist newspaper the Morning Star saying Putin’s actions were “not unprovoked”.
TOP AIDE SEUMAS MILNE
His views are closely echoed by his most senior and trusted adviser Seumas Milne, a former associate editor at the Guardian.
He has previously said Britain and its Nato allies were guilty of “anti-Russian incitement”, which was a “dangerous folly”, along with writing a series of pro-Putin articles.
He caused anger among Labour MPs yesterday for appearing to compare the evidence which pointed to Russian involvement in Salisbury with the case for war in Iraq.
But Mr Milne has long been on Russia’s side when it comes to such matters, and back in 2014 appeared at an event with Mr Putin and was pictured shaking the Russian leader’s hand.
The conference in Sochi took place after the invasion and annexation of Ukraine, which he defended as “clearly defensive”.
LINKS TO RUSSIA TODAY
The 59-year-old has also appeared numerous times on Russia Today, the Kremlin-funded TV channel which has been censured by the broadcast regulator Ofcom on multiple occasions.
Mr Corbyn himself was a regular guest on its programmes when he was a backbench MP, saying in 2013 the West should refrain from using “unconfirmed reports” about the use of chemical weapons in Syria to attack Russia.
He also suggested viewers stop watching mainstream broadcasters and give Russia Today, now known as RT, a chance instead.
A study in October last year found shadow ministers have featured at least 26 times since Mr Corbyn became Labour leader in 2015.
One of his key lieutenants, the shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon, has appeared 11 times, as have shadow ministers Barry Gardiner and Peter Dowd.
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has also been on – but this week said he won't be making any more appearances, saying its coverage "goes beyond objective journalism".
LABOUR ADVISERS
Mr Corbyn has other people close to him who are supporting of Putin’s regime, with senior advisor Andrew Fisher allegedly using his position in the leader’s office to remove a reference to tackling “Russian aggression” from a briefing for it MPs on benefits of EU, saying: “We want a positive line.”
Mr Fisher, who wrote Labour’s 2017 manifesto, has a long-term association with Marxists and communists, and has also written extensively on Russia in the Morning Star.
Another advisor, Andrew Murray, also has a history of supporting the Russian regime through his leadership of the Stop the War coalition, which Mr Corbyn has been chair of and a longstanding supporter.
The group organised at least three rallies in Britain for Boris Kagarlitsky, a Putin apologist paid by the Russian government, with Mr Corbyn and Mr Milne speaking at one of them.
Mr Murray, who was seconded from the Unite union to Labour headquarters for the 2017 general election, also wrote an article in the Morning Star in 1999 arguing Stalin’s leadership was preferable to the West, as well as others praising the Soviet Union.