FINAL VISIT
Poisoned Russian spy and daughter ‘visited his wife and son’s graves just hours before they were found collapsed’ in Salisbury as cops release new picture of BMW
THE poisoned ex-KGB spy Sergei Skripal may have visited his wife and son's graves with his daughter just hours before the pair were found collapsed in Salisbury after an apparent nerve agent attack.
Police revealed an estimated timeline of the father and daughter's movements before they were found, saying they were believed to be in the area of the Salisbury cemetery the morning they were poisoned with a nerve agent.
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The pair were seen in the area of London Road, Churchill Way North and Wilton Road the morning of March 4, just hours later found extremely ill on a park bench near Zizzi Restaurant.
It comes as cops revealed a new image of Sergei's burgundy BMW 320D saloon as part of their counter terror investigation into the attack, with fears that that Russian and his daughter Yulia were poisoned after a toxic substance was smeared on the door handle.
The timeline appears to back up the suggestion the father and daughter visited the graves of their family the morning they were poisoned.
Hundreds of police officers have now doubled down as part of their investigation, appealing for anyone who may have seen the father and daughter before they were found ill.
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BMW of Russian spy Sergei Skripal targeted in Salisbury nerve agent attack loaded onto container
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Police released an image of the car, with the registration plate HD09 WAO, as part of their efforts to track the movements of the pair in Salisbury.
Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said: "We are learning more about Sergei and Yulia's movements but we need to be clearer around their exact movements on the morning of the incident.
"We believe that at around 9.15am on Sunday, 4 March, Sergei's car may have been in the areas of London Road, Churchill Way North and Wilton Road. Then at around 1.30pm it was seen being driven down Devizes Road, towards the town centre.
"We need to establish Sergei and Yulia's movements during the morning, before they headed to the town centre. Did you see this car, or what you believe was this car, on the day of the incident? We are particularly keen to hear from you if you saw the car before 1.30pm."
Police have revealed that 400 witnesses have already come forward, with 250 specialist officers working around the clock as part of the probe.
Met Assistant Commissioner Basu added: "To date, detectives have recovered 762 exhibits and are trawling through around 4,000 hours of CCTV.
"They are making good progress in what is a painstaking investigation that is likely to be ongoing for weeks, if not months."
CCTV was yesterday revealed, showing the chilling moment that Sergei Skripal drove down a Salisbury street in the hours before his attempted assassination.
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Wiltshire Police say the counter-terrorism network will be leading the investigation of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal becoming critically ill after being ‘poisoned’ in Salisbury
A security camera at the Devizes Inn pub caught Skripal driving towards the city centre in his maroon BMW 3-Series at 1.35pm on March 4.
Anti-terror cops seized the CCTV footage in a bid to gain information about his whereabouts in the 40 minutes between leaving his house and arriving in the city centre.
The ex-KGB agent was found slumped on a shopping centre bench with daughter Yulia after coming into contact with deadly Russian nerve agent Novichok.
Police said that today, both Sergei and Yulia remain in a critical condition in hospital.
A Wiltshire Police officer - Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was among those first to respond to the incident - was also taken ill and remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
But police have moved to placate the public, saying the risk to the public is low.
AC Basu explained: "Public Health England has advised that the risk to the public is low. I would like to reassure anyone who may be concerned by the continued presence of officers wearing specialist protective clothing that they are wearing this as a precaution and that it is not an indication of an increased risk."
As police continue their investigations, relations between Russia and the UK have continued to freeze.
Russia ordered 23 diplomats to leave Russia, with embassy staff told they have one week to get out of the country.
It was a retaliatory move for Britain expelling 23 Russians this week.
Amber Rudd in Salisbury as police call in military to help investigate nerve agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal
TIMELINE OF EVENTS: Yulia and Sergei's movements before being poisoned
14.40hrs on Saturday 3 March: Yulia arrives at Heathrow Airport on a flight from Russia.
09.15hrs on Sunday, 4 March: Sergei's car is seen in the area of London Road, Churchill Way North and Wilton Road.
13.30hrs: Sergei's car is seen being driven down Devizes Road, towards the town centre.
13:40hrs: Sergei and Yulia arrive in Sainsbury's upper level car park at the Maltings. At some time after this, they go to the Bishops Mill Pub in the town centre.
14.20hrs: They dine at Zizzi Restaurant.
15:35hrs: They leave Zizzi Restaurant.
16.15hrs: Emergency services receive a report from a member of the public and police arrive at the scene within minutes, where they find Sergei and Yulia extremely ill on a park bench near the restaurant.
The Kremlin has also decided to close the British Council in Russia and to withdraw permission for Britain to open a general consulate in St Petersburg.
The measures were announced after Brit ambassador in Moscow Laurie Bristow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning amid a deepening row over the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning of the Skripals, who remain hospitalised in critical condition after the March 4 attack.
Putin's spokesman denounced the claim.
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Meanwhile new tensions have surfaced over the death this week of a London-based Russian businessman, Nikolai Glushkov.
Brit cops said Friday that he died from compression to the neck and opened a murder investigation.
Russia also says it suspects foul play in Glushkov's death and opened its own inquiry Friday.
Police officer who was a first responder to Sergei Skripal and his daughter is now ill in hospital after they were targeted with a 'nerve agent' in Salisbury