Kremlin accuses Britain of launching a 'dirty attempt to discredit' Moscow by blaming Russia for nerve agent attack on spy Sergei Skripal (after Vladimir Putin smirked when asked if he was to blame)
- Sergei Skripal and his daughter remain critical after Salisbury nerve agent attack
- Theresa May has said it was 'highly likely' Russia was involved in the poisoning
- A smirking Vladimir Putin was asked whether Russia was behind the attack
- The Russian President told Britain to clarify its position before he will comment
- His Foreign Minister says Russia is not to blame and summoned UK ambassador
The Kremlin has accused Britain of launching a 'dirty attempt to discredit' Moscow by blaming Russia for the nerve agent attack on spy Sergei Skripal.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted Russia 'is not to blame' for the attack in Salisbury which left the former double agent and daughter Yulia in a critical condition.
His department also hit out at Britain's 'baseless accusations', describing them as a 'dirty attempt to discredit' his country. He warned that threats of sanctions 'will not be left without a response'.
His comments came after Vladimir Putin smirked after being asked whether Russia was responsible for the poisoning. When asked on camera if Moscow was to blame, the Russian President smiled a little before side-stepping the question.
He then told Britain it needed to 'get to the bottom of things there first' before he is willing to comment on the matter.
Theresa May said last night it was 'highly likely' Russia was involved in the 'reckless and despicable' poisoning of 66-year-old Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter.
US President Donald Trump is planning to talk to May later today, adding that it 'sounds to me that it would be Russia based on all the evidence they have'.
Footage captured the moment Vladimir Putin smirked after being asked whether Russia was responsible for the poisoning of spy Sergei Skripal
The Russian president told Britain to 'get to the bottom of things there first' when asked about the nerve agent attack in Salisbury
Sergei Skripal (left) and his daughter Yulia (right) have been in a critical condition since they were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury on March 4
Branding the attack a 'reckless and despicable act' last night, Mrs May said the substance used was a 'military grade' nerve agent Russia has produced and demanded answers from the Kremlin by midnight tonight
Police have put a forensics tent over the parking meter outside Salisbury's Sainsbury's store amid fears it was used by Sergei Skripal
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right, today) shakes hands with Acting Head of Dagestan Vladimir Vasilyev. Putin's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has insisted Russia 'is not to blame' for the nerve agent attack in Salisbury
'As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be.'
Before the Prime Minister's remarks yesterday, Putin was asked by BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg whether Russia was responsible for the assassination attempt.
A smiling Putin replied: 'Listen, we are dealing with agriculture here and as you can see our aim it to create living conditions for people - and you are talking about some tragedies. Get to the bottom of things there first, then we'll discuss this.'
Putin's brief comment came after security sources said Skripal was poisoned by a rare nerve agent that only a few laboratories in the world could have produced - one of which, the source said, was the Yasenevo lab, run by Russia's SVR spy service on the outskirts of Moscow.
This morning, Lavrov said he had asked for access to samples of the nerve agent that poisoned Skripal and his daughter adding that Russia was 'not to blame'.
He warned that Russia will only co-operate with Britain on the investigation if it receives samples of the substance that is believed to have been used.
But Lavrov said that Moscow's requests to see samples of the nerve agent have been turned down, which he called a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the production of chemical weapons.
It comes after Putin's chief propagandist suggested Britain poisoned Skripal as part of a bid to 'to feed their Russophobia' and engineer a boycott of the World Cup.
Putin crony Dmitry Kiselyov, a top presenter on Russian state television, today said 'only the British stand to benefit' from the incident - apparently suggesting the UK may have targeted the Skripals.
The 63-year-old, who hosts Vesti Nedeli (News of the Week) on the official state-owned channel Rossiya 1, spoke in front of an image of Big Ben with words translating as 'death trap' written next to it.
The Prominent Russian media personality is quoted as saying: 'Clearly, they instantly started to blame Russia but if one thinks it through, the only ones for whom former GRU colonel's poisoning is good for are the Brits. Simply to feed their Russophobia.
He claimed that 'as a source' Skripal 'was no longer interesting' but added that 'as a victim of poisoning' he was 'useful'.
'Why not poison him? There is no pity. Together with his daughter so that it's more heart-wrenching for the public.
Vladimir Putin's chief propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov (pictured) has has suggested Britain poisoned Sergei Skripal as part of a bid to 'to feed their Russophobia' and engineer a boycott of the World Cup
Putin crony Dmitry Kiselyov, a top presenter on Russian state television, today said 'only the British stand to benefit' from the incident - apparently suggesting the UK may have targeted the Skripals
'Then there are lots of opportunities, including organising an international boycott of the World Cup in Russia. An excellent special operation.
'Skripal as cheap raw material - and let Russia find the excuses.'
Theresa May dramatically pointed the finger at Vladimir Putin last night over the nerve gas attack.
The Prime Minister said the facts increasingly suggested Russia was behind the apparent 'hit' on Skripal.
Branding the attack a 'reckless and despicable act', Mrs May said the substance used was a 'military grade' agent Moscow has produced.
Mrs May said the government would not accept such an attempt to 'murder innocent civilians on our soil'.
She will decide on a range of sanctions over the next 24 hours after urgent talks with Nato, the United Nations, EU and US.
The Prime Minister will also draw up a secret package of measures against Russia which will never be revealed.
This could include targeting the Kremlin's propaganda machine. Whitehall sources said yesterday they were accelerating their offensive cyber programme and could hit select targets for a specific effect.
It is understood this could see a specialist cyber unit deployed in the UK to attack Kremlin computer networks spewing Russian propaganda and trolling factories spreading fake news.
Together with Russia's previous actions and tactics, including the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, the UK authorities yesterday concluded it was 'highly likely' to be involved in the episode.
In a tough statement updating MPs after a meeting of the National Security Council, Mrs May raised the prospect of significant retaliation - making clear that the UK is already consulting Nato and other allies.
'It is now clear that Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with military grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia,' Mrs May said. 'This is part of a group of nerve agents known as novichok.'
Another option is for the Government to implement a British version of the US's Magnitsky Act, which lists Russians involved in corruption and human rights abuses, banning them from entering the country. There could be fresh sanctions against senior figures in the Putin regime, either with the EU or unilaterally.
General Sir Chris Deverell, commander of Joint Forces Command, has revealed how the UK has a specialist unit which is dedicated to 'offensive cyber' run jointly by the MoD and GCHQ.
So far it has worked on Islamic State but this could be expanded towards Russia.
In an interview with the Mail last week, he said the military could hit back at disinformation spread by Russian trolling factories. He said: 'There are two ways you could respond. One is putting your own messages out to compete with the messages that actors like that are sending. And the other is with a cyber-attack.
'Whether or not you could use cyber as a weapon would depend upon the specific circumstances and the law.' He said that there was a specific capability in which troops tackle mistruths spread by enemies.
Russia's ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office at 3.45pm yesterday for a 'cool but firm' meeting with Boris Johnson. There was no handshake between the politicians as Mr Johnson outlined the 'outrage' felt by the British people.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia (pictured in Zizzi in 2016) left a trail of nerve agent in the restaurant after their poisoning
The investigation into the poisoning has led to a series of locations around Salisbury being sealed off and decontaminated
Soldiers in Hazmat suits closed down a village near Salisbury yesterday as they removed a recovery truck thought to have towed Mr Skripal's car from the scene
She added: 'Based on the positive identification of this chemical agent by world leading experts at the laboratory at Port Down, our knowledge that Russia has previously produced this agent and would still be cap able of doing so, Russia's record of conducting state sponsored assassinations, and our assessment that Russia views defectors as a legitimate target for assassination the government has concluded that it is highly likely Russia was responsible for the act against Sergei and Yulia Skripal.'
Mrs May said Boris Johnson had summoned the Russian ambassador in London yesterday afternoon and informed him of the findings.
The Kremlin was given a deadline of midnight to respond to the evidence and the government could outline its 'detailed' retaliation later today.
'Should there be no credible response we will conclude that his action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom, and I will come back to this House and set out the full range of measures that we will take in response,' she said.
Theresa May is under growing pressure to go public with suspicions the Kremlin is to blame for the assassination attempt on the 66-year-old and his daughter, 33. Pictured: Military personnel wearing protective suits investigate at the scene on Sunday
Anti-terror police also took over a Sainsbury's car park in Salisbury as part of the rapidly expanding chemical attack probe
Military personnel wearing protective suits remove a police car and other vehicles from a public car park as they continue investigations into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal yesterday
'This attempted murder using a weapons-grade nerve agent on a British town was not just a crime against the Skripals, it was an indiscriminate ad reckless act against the United Kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk,' she said.
'And we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder innocent civilians on our soil.'
The nerve agent - Novichok - that contaminated the victims was so secret that it was never known to have been used until now, the Times claimed.
MPs from across parties voiced support for Mrs May's robust reaction to the outrage on UK soil.
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn drew shouts and jeers as he criticised the government for failing to 'talk' to the Kremlim and complained about Tory donations from Russian business figures.
'We need to continue seeking a robust dialogue with Russia on all the issues dividing our countries, both domestic and international - rather than simply cutting off contact and simply letting tensions and divisions get worse, and potentially even more dangerous,' Mr Corbyn said.
He faced shouts of 'shame' and 'disgrace' from Conservative MPs as he told the Commons: 'We're all familiar with the way huge fortunes, often acquired in the most dubious circumstances in Russia, sometimes connected with criminal elements, have ended up sheltering in London and trying to buy political influence in British party politics.
'Meddling in elections, as the Prime Minister put it, and there has been over £800,000 worth of donations to the Conservative Party from Russian oligarchs and their associates.'
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith branded Russia a 'rogue state' and demanded the 'most severe' response.
He said: 'If we appease a country like this, then we should expect even worse.'
Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat said the use of nerve gas was a 'war like act'.
Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper said a cross-party stand was needed against Russian aggression.
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