Russia has tested assassinations by placing nerve agent on door handles, British spies claim after Novichok found on Sergei Skripal’s front door
Security sources reveal Putin's scientists tested if deadly Novichok could be used for assassinations by being smeared on doors
RUSSIA tested if its deadly Novichok nerve agent could be used for assassinations by placing it on door handles, according to British spooks.
Police said last week they believed Russian ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned at home in Salisbury via their front door.
Now agents have confirmed that Putin's scientists carried out experiments looking at its effectiveness on door handles before the March 3 attack.
A security source told the: "We have intelligence that goes beyond Russia made Novichok and stockpiled it.
"We have evidence that they also explored using it as an assassination weapon including on areas such as door handles and everyday objects."
It comes as Brit spies also revealed they have pinpointed the Russian lab likeliest to have developed the deadly Novichok.
Sources claimed that they are not 100 per cent certain on the location but they have a high degree of confidence.
A Whitehall source told they knew by the first Cobra meeting that it "was overwhelmingly likely to come from Russia.”
The sources also claim that the Russians conducted tests to see whether Novichok could be used for assassinations.
This comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that the Yasenevo lab was one of the few labs that manufacture Novichok.
The lab, run by Russia’s SVR spy service on Moscows outskirts, is one of a handful of labs in the world that produces the dangerous nerve agent, security sources claim.
Sergei Skripal, 66, remains in a critical condition following the attack a month ago, but his daughter Yulia, 33, is conscious and believed to be communicating.
Britain and the international community has stood firm in punishing Russia by expelling more than 115 of its diplomats.
But yesterday the Government suffered a series of blunders after the head of the UK's defence lab Porton Down admittied it could not verify the source of the nerve agent.
The Foreign Office also deleted a tweet which mistakenly claimed Porton Down had confirmed the Novichok definitely came from Russia.
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Police said high concentrations of the nerve agent were found on the Skripal's front door suggesting it was placed there.
Dep Ass Commissioner Dean Haydon said: "At this point in our investigation, we believe the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent from their front door.
“We are therefore focusing much of our efforts in and around their address."
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