'WE WILL ACT'
Theresa May refuses to rule out expelling Russian ambassador from Britain if the country is found to be behind poisoning of ex-spy
THERESA May has refused to rule out expelling Russian ambassadors if the country is found to be behind the poison attack on an ex-Russian spy.
The Prime Minister said Britain will "do what is appropriate and what is right" if the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia came from the Russian state.
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MPs are piling on the pressure on ministers to cut diplomatic ties with Russia, to put tougher sanctions on the country and freeze assets of oligarchs.
Today the former Ambassador to Russia, Andrew Wood, told Britain could consider kicking out the Russian ambassador himself, and reports that the Foreign office are drawing up a list of diplomats and spies to expel too.
Mrs May refused to rule this out when directly questioned this afternoon.
She told ITV News: "We will do what is appropriate and we will do what is right, if it proves to be the case that it is state sponsored."
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And she added: "But let’s give the police time and space to actually conduct their investigation."
The PM vowed action if Russia were found to be behind it.
She said: "If action needs to be taken, the Government will do that.
She was speaking after it was revealed that the police officer who was hospitalised in the poison spy attack is awake, talking and out of intensive care.
The Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed this morning that the hero who was first to help the pair was on the mend - and she was "hopeful" about his recovery.
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But the two targets of the attack - Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia - are still in a "very serious condition", she told Good Morning Britain.
"The policeman is talking and engaging, I am more optimistic for him, but it's too early to say," she said.
"This is a nerve agent, but it's still very serious."
In a statement to MPs on the situation today, she vowed to bring their sick attackers to justice as soon as possible.
What we know so far:
- Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
- Police say they were deliberately targeted with a rare nerve agent
- The first Wiltshire Police officer on the scene is also ill in hospital - but hopes were raised for his recovery now he is awake and talking
- Two of the victims are said to be in comas
- A blonde woman with a red handbag is being hunted after being caught on CCTV minutes before the hit
- Cops believe the poison may have been slipped into a gift Yulia brought from Moscow
- Spooks believe the Russians may have had their drinks spiked in a pub or a Zizzi's restaurant
- Skripal was poisoned by a very rare nerve agent which only a few laboratories in the world could have produced
- It was claimed Yulia Skripal may have been poisoned after calling for Putin to be jailed on Facebook
- Boris Johnson urged royals to boycott the Russian World Cup in retaliation
NHS workers in hazardous material protective suits after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were taken ill in Salisbury
The Home Secretary described the attacks as a "brazen and reckless act" and reassured the public that all police were doing all they could to keep people safe.
Ms Rudd also revealed:
- The investigation now involves hundreds of officers
- Anyone who was in Salisbury town centre on Sunday should contact police
- Skripal and his daughter Yulia are still unconscious, and in a critical but stable condition
- British ministers would do "all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice... whoever they are and wherever they may be"
"The key thing is to allow the police to do their investigation," she added, stressing "cool heads" were needed before we know more.
And the Government are considering a "range of options" for how to best respond to the situation, as MPs piled pressure on ministers to cut diplomatic ties with Russia.
But MPs described the poisoning as a "an act of war" and demanded a cross-government approach to tackling increasing aggression.
Sir Edward Leigh said it was a way of trying to "humiliate our country" and Ed Davey demanded to know whether the "love in" with Russia had ended.
MP Nick Boles said: "I do not see how we can maintain diplomatic relations with a country that tries to murder people on British soil and puts the lives of British citizens at risk. It’s time for us to turn tough talk into action."
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And Chris Bryant MP, a persistent critic of Russia, said ministers need to call in the Russian ambassador. He stressed: "Questions which may have been premature are no longer so now. How did this nerve agent enter the country, did it arrive in a diplomatic bag, can we be sure there is none left?"
Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary has called on Britain to implement in the full the Magnitsky Amendment - which would allow the British assets of human rights violators to be frozen.
Last night it emerged that the former KGB agent could have been unwittingly poisoned by his daughter after she opened a 'gift from friends' as they ate in a restaurant.
Anti-terror cops are investigating the possibility that Kremlin-linked assassins slipped deadly sarin nerve gas into Sergei Skripal's present asdaughter Yulia prepared to fly over from Moscow days earlier.
Russia is becoming "more of a threat" every day, the Defence Secretary said today.
He told ITV: "Russia is being more aggressive, we need to change the way we deal with it... we can't be being pushed around by another nation".
Mr Williamson said British armed forces were putting themselves at risk to guarantee the security of Europe - but refused to say whether ambassadors could be withdrawn from the country after the attack.
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Doctors feared last night that former military intelligence officer Skripal is on the brink of death.
A Whitehall source told : “The feeling is that he is not going to make it out of this.
“I think it could be more positive [for Yulia]. They are hopeful that she might be able to pull through.
The Russian pair were "targeted specifically" when they were dosed by a deadly nerve agent, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley confirmed yesterday.
ll the sites involved in the investigation are now secured - but a police presence may stay in Salisbury for at least a couple of days, Mr Rowley added.
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