By Sammie Jones-
Boris Johnson has blamed President Vladimir Putin and accused him of “overwhelmingly likely” to have ordered the nerve agent attack on an ex-spy and his daughter, Boris Johnson has said.
The foreign secretary squarely laid the blame for the recent nerve agent attack in London on Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. He said “our quarrel is with Putin’s Kremlin, and with his decision” over the Salisbury incident.
Russia has denied any involvement and said the accusations against Mr. Putin were “shocking and unforgivable
Speaking during a visit to a west London military bunker with the Polish foreign minister, Mr. Johnson said the UK’s “quarrel is with Putin’s Kremlin”.
“We think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the UK, on the streets of Europe, for the first time since the Second World War,” he said. Johnson’s statement is a direct accusation which has the risk of seriously increasing tensions in UK-Russia relationship. The evidence is always important in making bold allegations like this, but if it is true, it raises very serious questions about other associated issues. Like how far is Russia willing to go to commit murder? All the tell-tale signs are there that the nerve agent was from Russia, but evidence and analysis should be undertaken to confirm any strong suspicions about the nerve agent attack
Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, remain critically ill in hospital after they were found unconscious on a bench in the Wiltshire city on 4 March.
The UK government says they were poisoned with a nerve agent of a type developed by Russia called Novichok, and PM Theresa May said she believed Moscow was “culpable