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England WILL play in World Cup despite outrage over Putin’s bid to poison spy, Boris Johnson confirms
The Foreign Secretary insisted Britain was crippling Russia's ability to spy on us
ENGLAND will play in the World Cup despite the Russian attempt to kill a spy in Salisbury, Boris Johnson confirmed today.
The Foreign Secretary said it would "punish" fans and players to force the national team to stay away from this summer's tournament.
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Instead, senior ministers and Royals will stay away from the World Cup when it takes place in Russia.
Asked if he backed a boycott, Mr Johnson said: "I don’t want to punish either English fans or the English team, I’ve got to be honest with you. That is not the plan."
The Foreign Secretary also accused Vladimir Putin of “glorying” in the brazen bid to kill ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.
But he warned the Russian regime its spooks can no longer work in the UK with impunity after the PM announced 23 so-called “diplomats” must leave the country within a week.
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Mr Johnson told BBC Breakfast: "I'm afraid the evidence is overwhelming that it is Russia.
"And there is something in the kind of smug, sarcastic response that we've heard from the Russians that to me betokens and indicates their fundamental guilt.
"They want simultaneously to deny it and yet at the same time to glory in it.
And he told BBC Radio 4: "I'm also very struck by the kind of smug sarcasm with which the Russians are denying it because they want, effectively, to have it both ways.
"They want to say 'not us' but they also want the world and the people of Russia to know that it is them."
Heralding Theresa May's tough stance, Mr Johnson added: “To kick out 23 undeclared agents is the biggest step this country has taken since the 1980s in relation to Russia.
“It will degrade their intelligence capabilities in this country for decades to come.”
He insisted the response was "far beyond what Vladimir Putin had bargained for".
The Foreign Secretary hit back against claims Russia may NOT be behind the Salisbury attack, saying the proof Mr Skripal was targeted with nerve agent novichok, made in a Russian state lab, was "overwhelmingly obvious to most sensible people".
Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire for suggesting that more evidence is needed before the finger can be pointed at the Russian tyrant Putin.
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The Labour boss’s own defence chief admitted that her leader had made things more difficult by refusing to condemn the regime directly.
Mr Johnson also told the BBC Britain would go after wealthy Russian oligarchs with direct links to Putin, vowing the Government would “bring them to justice”.
And he suggested the Russian president was targeting dissidents such as Mr Skripal in a bid to disguise his own weak position.
The Foreign Secretary said: “At a time when Russia is going in the wrong direction it’s more important than ever for him that he jams down the lid on potential dissent.
“This is a way of saying to people this is what happens to people who stand up to our regime.”
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But he resisted calls for England to boycott this summer's World Cup in Russia - and insisted the dispute is "not going to be another Cold War".
Yesterday Mrs May unveiled a package of measures to hit back at Russia after Putin refused to explain how novichok came to used on the streets of Britain.
The Kremlin has threatened to retaliate against the UK, raising the prospect of a tit-for-tat diplomatic war.
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