Critically ill man ‘dilapidated Russian look’

A man who’s critically ill after being uncovered to an unknown substance in Wiltshire is a Russian nationwide convicted of spying for Britain, the BBC understands.

Sergei Skripal, sixty six, used to be granted refuge in the UK following a « look swap » between the US and Russia in 2010.

He and a lady, 33, were chanced on unconscious on a bench at a procuring centre in Salisbury on Sunday.

Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury has been closed by police « as a precaution ».

The substance has not been identified, but Public Health England said there used to be no identified likelihood to the general public’s health.

Wiltshire Police are investigating whether a crime has been dedicated. They said the pair had no seen injuries but had been chanced on unconscious at the Maltings procuring centre.

They’ve declared a « vital incident » and more than one agencies are investigating. They said it had not been declared as a counter-terrorism incident, but they were conserving an « commence mind ».

Col Skripal, who’s a retired Russian defense power intelligence officer, used to be jailed for 13 years by Russia in 2006 for spying for Britain.

• Sergei Skripal: Who’s the dilapidated Russian colonel?

He used to be convicted of passing the identities of Russian intelligence agents working undercover in Europe to the UK’s Secret Intelligence Provider, MI6.

Russia said Col Skripal had been paid $100,000 for the information, which he had been supplying from the Nineties.

He used to be for sure one of 4 prisoners released by Moscow in alternate for 10 US spies in 2010, as portion of a swap. Col Skripal used to be later flown to the UK.

He and the girl, who police said were identified to 1 any other, are both in intensive care at Salisbury District Sanatorium.

A chain of areas in town centre were cordoned off and teams in tubby maintaining equipment feeble hoses to decontaminate the facet twin carriageway.

The hospital instructed of us to support routine operations and outpatient appointments unless they were contacted. It said its A&E division used to be commence but busy due to the climate.

On the restaurant closure, police said Public Health England had reiterated the advice that there used to be no identified likelihood to the wider public, but as a precaution instructed that if of us felt ill they might possibly perhaps quiet contact the NHS on 111.

« Whilst you occur to might possibly perhaps well be feeling your procure or one other’s health is tremendously deteriorating, ring 999, » police said.

Neighbours at Sergei Skripal’s dwelling in Salisbury speak police arrived around 17:00 GMT on Sunday and were there ever since.

They said he used to be devoted and as of late had misplaced his wife.

Eyewitness Freya Church told the BBC it sounded like the two of us had taken « something moderately trusty ».

She said: « On the bench there used to be a couple, an older man and a youthful girl. She used to be kind of leant in on him, it sounded like she had handed out possibly.

« He used to be doing a minute bit uncommon hand actions, taking a search for to the sky…

« They looked so out of it I assumed although I did step in I wasn’t obvious how I might possibly perhaps well attend. »

The possible of an unexplained substance being enthusiastic has drawn comparisons with the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

The Russian dissident died in London in 2006 after drinking tea laced with a radioactive substance.

A public inquiry concluded that his killing had doubtlessly been done with the approval of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in the UK, when asked for touch upon the incident, said: « Neither family individuals nor accurate representatives of the said particular person, nor the British authorities, possess addressed the embassy in this regard. »

Diagnosis

By BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera

The parallels are striking with the 2006 case of Alexander Litvinenko.

He, too, used to be a dilapidated Russian intelligence officer who had reach to the UK and used to be taken ill for causes that were in the starting up unclear.

If that is so, it took weeks to keep that the region off used to be deliberate poisoning, and it took shut to a decade sooner than a public inquiry pointed the finger of blame at the Russian convey.

Officials are stressing that it’s too early this time to speculate on what came about here or why.

The police are not even yet announcing a crime has been dedicated, but if the similarities attain firm up and Moscow is over as soon as more chanced on to be in the body there shall be questions about what kind of response might possibly perhaps well be required – and whether sufficient used to be completed in the previous to deter such job being repeated.

Used Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said the police manner to the Salisbury incident instructed there might possibly perhaps well be a « very injurious background ».

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight, he said: « It might possibly possibly perhaps well certainly potentially were the FSB (Russian intelligence products and companies) or the Kremlin might possibly perhaps well were behind it.

« It might possibly possibly perhaps well were some kind of criminal response for other causes, or it might possibly most likely most likely possibly perhaps well be some kind of non-public criticism some particular particular person had in opposition to these two of us or either of them.

« We don’t know at this stage and it’s not going to be critical to speculate beyond that, » he added.

What were the costs in opposition to Col Skripal?

Col Skripal used to be convicted of « high treason in the kind of espionage » by Moscow’s defense power court in August 2006. He used to be stripped off all his titles and awards.

He used to be alleged by the Russian security carrier FSB to possess begun working for the British secret products and companies whereas serving in the navy in the Nineties.

He had been passing information categorized as convey secrets and ways and been paid for the work by MI6, the FSB claimed.

Col Skripal pleaded responsible at his trial and co-operated with investigators, reports said at the time.

Were you in the establish aside at the time? Enjoy you ever been plagued by the incident? That it’s possible you’ll share your skills by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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