Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Matthew Weaver , Andrew Sparrow and Alexandra Topping

Russian spy mystery: counter-terror police take charge of investigation - live updates

As the day draws to a close we will pause the blog for the time being - but bring you any breaking news as it happens later tonight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Alexei Druzhinin/EPA

The alleged poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal follows a “long tradition of Russia eliminating its enemies”, according to an expert on Russian politics.

Dr Paul Flenley, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Portsmouth university, says Russia and its secret police had a “code” to avenge treachery. “It’s all speculation at the moment, but there’s a long tradition, since the 1920s, of Russia eliminating its enemies.

“The secret police are well trained. There’s an assumption you can’t escape, there’s a code and if you break it, if you betray them, they will get you - it’s part of their discipline.”

But Flenley says Russian president Vladimir Putin was not necessarily the source of such acts: “There’s tendency to assume everything is orchestrated by Putin, and of course he likes that, it amplifies his power, but there are other possibilities, there are business groups and mafia-like groups who could be seeking revenge.”

Updated

A picture is emerging in Salisbury of a polite, friendly, gregarious man.

Shopkeeper Ebru Ozturk, 41, said Sergei Skripal came into the store once a week. He liked a particular type of Polish sausage and spent between £30 and £40 on lottery scratch cards a time. She described him as “like a grandfather”.

She said: “He’s a very kind person, I really look forward to him coming in. Last time I saw him is a few days ago - he came in and bought a scratch card. He often wins money. He’s very lucky. He was always well-dressed and neat.

“He bought lottery tickets a lot. He was very polite. He’s a very kind customer. He sometimes came with his daughter. He mentioned that his wife had died a couple of years ago. Whenever I saw him he was happy.

“I think he was doing lots of business things. He knows lots of different languages, he’s very educated. I think he’s been to lots of different countries. We talked a lot. We chatted about different countries and different foods he cooked. I was about to ask if he wanted any Russian food or vodka the next time he comes in.”

He was also a member of the Railway Social Club in Salisbury. Other people who knew him said they thought he was wealthy and may have dabbled in property abroad.

Theresa May and other senior ministers have been briefed about the investigation at a meeting of the government’s national security council, Downing Street has said.

May’s spokesman said the PM and her ministers “were updated on the ongoing investigation in Salisbury, which is now being led by counter-terrorism police. The council followed a meeting of senior government officials from across Whitehall earlier today”.

May was among people who spoke at the meeting, the spokesman said: “A number of people spoke, including the prime minister and officials.”

Beyond that, we didn’t learn much, with May’s spokesman declining to say who attended, beyond May and the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, or what was discussed. He said:

It’s an ongoing investigation, and it’s important not to pre-judge the facts and to let the police get on with their work.

What we know so far

  • Counter-terror police have taken over the investigation into how the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia came to be found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury. Police have said they are keeping an open mind as to what happened.
  • Skripal and his daughter are in intensive care being treated for exposure to an unknown substance. Both remain in a critical condition.
  • Samples from the scenes are being tested at the military research laboratory at Porton Down. Experts have yet to identify the substance.
  • Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has said the UK will respond “robustly” if Russia is found to have been involved. He told the Commons there were echoes of what happened to Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned in London in 2006 by Russian agents. He also described Russia as “malign and disruptive”. Russia’s foreign ministry dismissed his remarks as “wild”.
  • Johnson’s office has rowed back from his suggestion that England could boycott the World Cup in Russia this summer over the incident. Sources clarified that any boycott would apply only to officials and dignitaries, not the team.
  • Wiltshire police have said one member of the emergency services is in hospital. Police said a small number of emergency services personnel were assessed immediately after the incident and one remained in hospital.
  • CCTV footage has emerged showing a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where Skripal was found. A witness said those in the footage appeared to be the pair seen unconscious on the bench.
  • The Russian embassy has denied that the illness affecting the Skripals resulted from “planned action by the Russian security services”. It said: “Media reporting could give rise to the impression that this is a planned action by the Russian security services, which in no way corresponds to the truth.”
  • The Kremlin said it was ready to cooperate if Britain asked for help in its investigation of the “tragic situation”. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Nobody has approached us with such a request. Moscow is always open for cooperation.”
  • Skripal was one of four Russians exchanged for 10 deep cover “sleeper” agents planted by Moscow in the US in 2010. Skripal was convicted of passing the identities of Russian agents working undercover in Europe to MI6 in 2006.
  • Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian agent believed to be behind the killing of Litvinenko, has suggested the incident in Salisbury is a false flag operation. “I don’t rule out that this is another provocation by British intelligence agencies,” Lugovoi told Russia’s pro-Kremlin Vzglyad newspaper.
  • Ben Emmerson QC, who represented the Litvinenko family at the inquest in London, called on the government to consider establishing a public inquiry into the suspected poisoning in Salisbury.

Our Espionage section has more on the incident.

Updated

The Microbiological Research Establishment at Porton Down, Wiltshire, which specialises in chemical warfare, is testing samples from the scene in Salisbury, according to the BBC.

But experts have not confirmed the identity of the substance, the BBC’s home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds reports.

Updated

PA has more on the confusion Boris Johnson sowed over England’s World Cup involvement - before his team rejected suggestions that Gareth Southgate’s squad could be pulled from the competition.

Raising a point of order, Labour’s Toby Perkins quoted Johnson’s remarks and said: “If what the foreign secretary was saying was that it was his view that England should pull out of the World Cup, the consequences of that are absolutely massive – on the travel industry, on businesses, on the tens of thousands of supporters who are intending to travel and the media and so on.

“I wonder if you have heard if there is going to be a statement to that effect and if not that we should ask the foreign secretary to come back and explain such an important claim very quickly.”

The Commons Speaker, John Bercow, replied: “To be fair the foreign secretary used the conditional tense and I think it would be correct to say that he was ruminating on the possibilities in the event of no improvement in the situation.

“I don’t think it would be right to say that he made a statement of policy.”

Updated

Russia’s foreign ministry has dismissed Boris Johnson’s remarks about the incident.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the foreign secretary’s comments were “wild”, the Interfax news agency reported.

Johnson threatened a “robust” response if Russian involvement in the incident was proven. “I say to governments around the world that no attempt to take innocent life on UK soil will go either unsanctioned or unpunished,” he said.

He also described Russia as “malign and disruptive”. And he said it would be difficult to see how UK representation at the World Cup in Russia could go ahead in the normal way if the Kremlin was behind the illness that has struck down Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Updated

Pritchard didn’t reveal anything new, but for the record here is some of his statement.

Our focus has been on what has caused these people to become critically ill and whether or not criminal activity has taken place … The counter-terrorism network will be leading this investigation as it has the specialist capability to do so. It is important to reiterate that they have not declared this as a terrorist incident. At this stage they are keeping an open mind as to what has happened.

We can confirm that a small number of emergency service personnel, including some officers and staff, were assessed immediately after the incident.

I want to reassure you that there does not appear to be any immediate risk to the public. During this time it vital that we continue to provide an increased policing presence in the Salisbury city area, as I believe this plays an important part in helping to reassure our communities.

Updated

Angus Macpherson, the police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire, has given a brief statement.

Speaking in Devizes, he said:

This appears to have happened on a quiet Sunday afternoon in our cathedral city. In the past couple of days I’ve been briefed regularly by the chief constable and can say with confidence that the matter has received the full support of both the police and our partner agencies in a coordinated major response. Measures necessary to ensure the safety of the public in and around the scene have also been taken.

He did not take questions either.

Updated

The temporary chief constable of Wiltshire police, Kier Pritchard is giving a press conference on what he describes as a “fast-paced” investigation.

Pritchard confirms that counter-terror police are leading the investigation. He repeats that it has not been declared a terrorist incident.

Pritchard says there is no risk to the public. He does not take questions.

Updated

What we know so far

  • Counter-terror police have taken over the investigation into how the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia came to be found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury. Police said they are keeping an open mind as to what happened.
  • Skripal and his daughter are in intensive care being treated for exposure to an unknown substance. Both remain in a critical condition.
  • Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has said the UK will respond “robustly” if Russia is found to have been involved. He told the Commons there were echoes of what happened to Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned in London in 2006 by Russian agents. He also described Russia as “malign and disruptive”.
  • Johnson’s office has rowed back from his suggestion that England could boycott the World Cup in Russia this summer over the incident. Sources clarified that any boycott would apply only to officials and dignitaries, not the team.
  • Wiltshire police have said one member of the emergency services is in hospital. Police said a small number of emergency services personnel were assessed immediately after the incident and one remained in hospital.
  • CCTV footage has emerged showing a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where Skripal was found. A witness said those in the footage appeared to be the pair seen unconscious on the bench.
  • The Russian embassy has denied that the illness affecting the Skripals resulted from “planned action by the Russian security services”. It said: “Media reporting could give rise to the impression that this is a planned action by the Russian security services, which in no way corresponds to the truth.”
  • The Kremlin said it was ready to cooperate if Britain asked for help in its investigation of the “tragic situation”. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Nobody has approached us with such a request. Moscow is always open for cooperation.”
  • Skripal was one of four Russians exchanged for 10 deep cover “sleeper” agents planted by Moscow in the US in 2010. Skripal was convicted of passing the identities of Russian agents working undercover in Europe to MI6 in 2006.
  • Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian agent believed to be behind the killing of Litvinenko, has suggested the incident in Salisbury is a false flag operation. “I don’t rule out that this is another provocation by British intelligence agencies,” Lugovoi told Russia’s pro-Kremlin Vzglyad newspaper.
  • Ben Emmerson QC, who represented the Litvinenko family at the inquest in London, called on the government to consider establishing a public inquiry into the suspected poisoning in Salisbury.

Updated

Yulia Skripal
Yulia Skripal Photograph: Facebook

Facebook images have emerged of Yulia Skripal, who was found unconscious with her father, Sergei Skripal, after being exposed to an unknown substance. Both are in intensive care in hospital in Salisbury.

Skripal’s Facebook profile, last updated in 2016, says she lives in Moscow. She is reported to have been visiting her father in Salisbury when the incident happened.

Earlier, Boris Johnson told the Commons there was much concern about what had happened to Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Updated

Counter-terror police take over investigation

Counter-terrorism police have taken over the investigation in Salisbury, Scotland Yard has announced.

In a statement on the incident, the Metropolitan police said:

Due to the unusual circumstances it has been decided that the counter-terrorism policing network will lead the investigation as it has the specialist expertise to do so.

It has not been declared a terrorist incident and at this stage we are keeping an open mind as to what happened.

At approximately 16:15hrs on Sunday 4 March, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s were found unconscious on a bench in The Maltings shopping centre, Salisbury. They are currently being treated at hospital for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both remain in a critical condition in intensive care.

Wiltshire police, along with colleagues from the ambulance and fire services, attended the scene and cordons were established, which remain in place today.

Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of counter-terrorism policing, said:

The focus at this time is to establish what has caused these people to become critically ill. We would like to reassure members of the public that this incident is being taken extremely seriously and we currently do not believe there is any risk to the wider public.

We continue to appeal to any members of the public who may have information in relation to this incident to contact police immediately on 999.

Temporary chief constable of Wiltshire police, Kier Pritchard, said:

I would like to reassure our local communities that the multi-agency response is ongoing and we will continue to work with our partners, including Public Health England, the local NHS trust, local authorities and emergency services.

Updated

The attempts by Johnson’s office to backtrack on his suggestion of a World Cup boycott have been met with much ridicule.

Here’s the full text of Johnson’s remarks about the World Cup. Responding to Labour’s Toby Perkins, who didn’t even ask about the tournament, Johnson said:

If things turn out to be as many members I think on both sides of the house suspect that they are … I think we will have to have a serious conversation about engagement with Russia. For my own part I think it will be very difficult to see how we – I’m thinking ahead to the World Cup this July, this summer – I think it will be very difficult to imagine that UK representation at that event could go ahead in the normal way. And we would certainly have to consider that.

Updated

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, an ultranationalist politician and presidential candidate, has said British intelligence agencies may have poisoned Skripal because “he was of no more use to them and he knew secrets about British intelligence … that he could have sold on.”

He also said his “poisoning with some mysterious, rare substance” may have been an attempt by Britain to discredit Russia.

Updated

Those close to Boris Johnson appear to be rowing back on his suggestion that England could boycott the World Cup over the incident in Salisbury.

He meant “officials and dignitaries” rather than the team, a source told Paul Waugh.

Labour’s Toby Perkins will demand clarification in a point of order, he told Waugh.

Updated

Anna Turley, the Labour MP for Redcar, has backed Johnson’s threat to pull England out of the World Cup in Russia.

Paul Waugh from HuffPost UK has more on Johnson’s comments about the possibility of England boycotting the World Cup.

Sam Greene, director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London, argues that after his expected re-election Putin will have to address the widespread mistrust of Russia.

Updated

Johnson suggests England could boycott the World Cup

The Boris Johnson urgent question session has now finished. Near the end Johnson suggested that if Russia were found to be involved in the Skripal case, England would boycott the World Cup due to take place in Russia this summer. In those circumstances, he said, “I think it will be difficult to see how UK representation at the World Cup can go ahead”.

Updated

Labour’s Luciana Berger asks if the toxicology report from the Skripal investigation will be made public. Johnson says he will not comment on the investigation.

The Conservative MP Jack Lopresti asks how the government categorises cyber-attacks from Russia on the UK’s critical infrastructure. Are they nuisances or acts of war?

Johnson replies:

I increasingly think that we have to categorise them as acts of war, and that means that we need to elaborate a new doctrine of response and a new doctrine of deterrence as well, and we certainly are. That is one of the conclusions that we took in the NSC [national security council] a few months ago.

Updated

Johnson says the UK is “in the lead across the world in standing up to Russia”. That may explain the level of hostility directed against the UK, he says. If that is the case, it is worth it, he says.

Dominic Grieve, the chair of the parliament’s intelligence and security committee, says his committee has launched an inquiry into Russia’s covert activity. He says the inquiry has new urgency in the light of the Skripal case. He asks Johnson to ensure the committee gets the help it needs to carry this out.

Johnson tells Grieve he will respond to his request.

In response to a question about a BuzzFeed investigation saying US intelligence officials think 14 people have been killed by Russian security services or mafia groups on British soil, Johnson says he will discuss this issue with Amber Rudd, the home secretary.

Updated

In response to a question from Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, Johnson says the government will look at proposed Magnitsky amendments to a government bill “with an open mind”. He says the government’s current view is that a specific Magnitsky amendment (which would impose specific sanctions on those involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky (see 10.47am)) is unnecessary. But he says he acknowledges that MPs may want to go further.

Updated

Johnson says the UK has taken a tough stance against Russia. It has backed sanctions, which have hurt the Russian economy.

He says it is not yet clear what happened in Salisbury. But MPs will have their suspicions, he says.

As I say, it is too early to speculate as to the precise nature of the crime or attempted crime that has taken place in Salisbury yesterday. But I know members will have their suspicions. And what I will say to the house is, if those suspicions prove to be well founded then this government will take whatever measures we deem necessary to protect the lives of the people in this country, our values and our freedoms.

And although I am not now pointing fingers, because we cannot point fingers, I say to governments around the world that no attempt to take innocent life on UK soil will go either unsanctioned or unpunished.

It may be that this country will continue to pay a price for our continued principle in standing up to Russia. But I hope I will have the support of members on both sides of the house in continuing to do so.

He also describes Russia as a “malign and disruptive force”.

Updated

Johnson says UK will respond 'robustly' if Russia found to have been involved in Skripal case

Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, asks his question. It is phrased as a general question about Russia.

Boris Johnson says there is much concern about what has happened to Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. There are echoes of what happened to Alexander Litvinenko. He says if evidence emerges of state responsibility, the government will respond “appropriately and robustly”.

Police, together with partner agencies, are now investigating. Honourable members will note the echoes of the death of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

And while it’d be wrong to prejudge the investigation, I can reassure the House that should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then Her Majesty’s government will respond appropriately and robustly.

  • Johnson, the foreign secretary, says the UK will respond “robustly” if Russia is found to have been involved in the Skripal case.

Updated

Russian embassy denies Skripal incident is a 'planned action by Russian security services'

The Russian embassy has denied that the illness affecting the former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal resulted from “planned action by the Russian security services”.

It said: “Media reporting could give rise to the impression that this is a planned action by the Russian security services, which in no way corresponds to the truth.”

The embassy has said it is seriously concerned by British media reporting of the hospitalisation of Skripal and complained that the incident is being used to demonise Russia.

“The way the situation is being described by British media causes serious concern,” a spokesman said. “The British media are swiftly launching a new phase of the anti-Russian campaign.”

Updated

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, is responding to an urgent question in the Commons about the Skripal case. He has just turned up in the chamber, about three minutes late, and will be starting shortly.

My colleague Steve Morris has sent some further details on the timeline of events on Sunday.

3.47pm

A CCTV camera at Snap Fitness captures two people believed to be Skripal and his daughter. They are apparently walking normally.

4.03pm

The same camera catches Freya Church, a personal trainer. She turns left out of the gym and sees in front of her Skripal and the woman on the bench. She said the woman had passed out and the man was behaving strangely.

Approx 4.15pm

Emergency services are called. The woman is airlifted to hospital; Skripal is taken by road.

That means there was a gap of 16 minutes between when the couple walked past the gym CCTV camera and when Church saw them in great distress.

Police will want to know what prompted them to stop at the bench. Were they feeling ill or did they just stop to enjoy the mild afternoon? According to the Met Office, most of last week’s snow had cleared by then and it was becoming milder – around 10C. The bench, next to the river Avon, would have been a good place to pause.

Freya Church said:

I just finished training and I walked out of the gym and there were a couple outside on a bench. It was a young, blonde and pretty girl and it was definitely the man that’s been pictured in the news – the guy that’s a spy.

She was passed out and he was looking up to the sky and I tried to get eye contact to see if they were OK. They didn’t seem with it, to be honest I thought they were just drugged out as they were in a weird state. They were out of it.

There are lots of homeless people here so I just thought they were homeless. Now that I know what I know I’m absolutely shocked, I just thought it was a couple of people sat there taking drugs.

It’s quite scary and I’m actually a little nervous – nothing like this happens here in Salisbury. You hear Russian spy being thrown around and it makes me a little worried, it almost doesn’t seem real.

Describing the woman, she said: “She had a red bag with her, she didn’t look really raggy or anything. It was weird that she was much younger and he was an older man.”

Updated

Downing Street has declined to comment on the case, with Theresa May’s spokesman saying it was still a police matter.

He said: “All relevant departments, including No 10, are being kept informed of developments, as you’d expect. But this is an ongoing investigation which is being led by the police, and is an operational matter for them.”

The cabinet had their usual weekly meeting this morning, but did not discuss events in Salisbury, he said. There had been no meeting called of the government’s Cobra security committee, the spokesman added.

A Foreign Office minister is expected to face an urgent question on Russia at 12.30. The minister will make a short statement. Then he/she will take questions from MPs for about 30-40 minutes.

Updated

Lunchtime summary

• The second person found unconscious in Salisbury alongside the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal is his daughter. Yulia Skripal was discovered on a bench next her father and, like him, is in a critical condition in hospital. It is understood that she lives in Russia but was visiting the UK.

• Wilshire police have said one member of the emergency services is in hospital. Police said a small number of emergency services personnel were assessed immediately after the incident and one remained in hospital.

• CCTV footage has emerged showing a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where Skripal was found.

• The UK’s leading counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley, said his specialists were supporting the investigation that has led to a major incident being declared in Salisbury. Rowley said the investigation could look at possible links with the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

• The Kremlin said it was ready to cooperate if Britain asked for help in its investigation of the “tragic situation”. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Nobody has approached us with such a request. Moscow is always open for cooperation.”

• Skripal was one of four Russians exchanged for 10 deep cover “sleeper” agents planted by Moscow in the US in 2010. Skripal was convicted of passing the identities of Russian agents working undercover in Europe to MI6 in 2006.

• Skripal and his daughter collapsed on Sunday afternoon. The pair were taken to Salisbury district hospital, where a major incident was declared on Monday. Public Health England radiation and toxicology experts have been called in to help.

Updated

Alastair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, has outlined how Skripal and his daughter will be being treated and tested in intensive care.

Standard blood tests will be done to assess electrolyte levels and liver and kidney function. Individuals will be receiving intravenous fluids anyway and it is essential to maintain fluid balance.

Intensive care facilities in hospitals are best placed to look after poisoned patients as they have the necessary skills and equipment.

As for tests, a variety of fluids will be investigated. Blood, saliva and urine will all be tested. Urine may provide clues for substances excreted more rapidly.

Given the apparent rapidity of onset of symptoms a bacterial or viral cause seems less likely but we know nothing at this stage about how the couple were feeling hours earlier. So a microbiology lab may well do a range of screening tests to check for a bacterial cause. But this will depend on what the clinical team feels is appropriate.

Signs and symptoms give a clue about possible candidate chemicals or drugs and the hospital’s own laboratory may be able to do some of the testing.

Other labs at Guy’s hospital or in Birmingham are also equipped to screen for a wide range of substances. And finally, there is the government’s chemical defence laboratory at Porton Down which has state-of-the-art equipment to look for trace amounts of substances.

Individuals cannot provide unlimited amounts of blood for testing so investigations will be guided by the clinical team. Some tests are rapid and some candidates will be looked at quickly But if the cause is more unusual, body fluids will require significant clean-up preparation before they can be put in an instrument. So this could take a day or several days.

There will be active coordination with a whole range of agencies and hospital departments in a case like this.

The Guardian’s Luke Harding recounted in his book about the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko how the KGB established a poisons institute on the orders of Lenin. Known as Lab X, it is said to have operated throughout the Soviet era, and its existence was confirmed in the memoir of Pavel Sudoplatov, head of the KGB’s Administration for Special Tasks.

In January 2016 Sir Robert Owen, the coroner in the Litvinenko inquest, said he was certain Litvinenko had been poisoned by two Russian men, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, using polonium made in a nuclear reactor. He said the men were probably under direction and that the operation was probably approved by Vladimir Putin.

He noted that Putin had subsequently decorated Lugovoi for services to the fatherland: “President Putin’s conduct towards Mr Lugovoi suggests a level of approval for the killing of Mr Litvinenko,” Owen said.

Updated

Police: one member of emergency services in hospital

More from Wiltshire police. One member of the emergency services remains in hospital. Here’s the main points:

  • Both victims remain in a critical condition in intensive care.
  • A number of scenes have been secured. These include the Zizzi restaurant on Castle Street and The Bishop’s Mill pub in The Maltings.
  • The advice from Public Health England remains that, based on the evidence to date, currently there doesn’t appear to be any immediate risk to public health.
  • Police can confirm that a small number of emergency services personnel were assessed immediately after the incident and all but one have been released from hospital.

Updated

The Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has granted an urgent question on the government’s policy towards Russia.

The Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, will be asking the question at approximately 12.30pm in the House of Commons.

Updated

Two police officers dealing with the Salisbury incident have been admitted to hospital, the BBC reports, citing a Wiltshire police email.

The BBC’s Tom Symonds says they had minor symptoms including itchy eyes and wheezing.

Last night police closed Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury city centre as a precaution.

Pedestrians pass by as a poice officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi in Salisbury
Pedestrians pass by as a poice officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi in Salisbury Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

The Conservative MP for Salisbury, John Glen, has expressed his concern about Sunday’s events. Writing on Twitter he appealed for the police to be given space to investigate. He also said he had been assured there was no wider risk to public safety.

Updated

Skripal’s wife, Liudmila, died of cancer at the family home in Salisbury in October 2012. Her daughter Yulia reported the death to Wiltshire council’s register office and told staff that her father was a retired local government planning officer.

The death certificate recorded Liudmila’s cause of death as disseminated endometrial carcinoma. She and her husband and daughter all lived at the same address in Salisbury, according to the certificate.

Police officers stand outside the home of Sergei Skripal after a man and woman were found unconscious in Salisbury town centre on Sunday.
Police officers stand outside the home of Sergei Skripal after a man and woman were found unconscious in Salisbury town centre on Sunday. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Updated

Bill Browder, the chief executive of Hermitage Capital, who is fighting for justice after the death of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Russian prison cell in 2009, claims the Salisbury incident was attempted murder.

Speaking to the Press Association, he said: “We don’t know much, but based on the headlines from yesterday, who the person was, his relationship with the Kremlin and the circumstances of his collapse, the first operating assumption should be that this was an assassination attempt by the Kremlin against a traitor of Russia.”

Browder, who is in Westminster to give evidence to a parliamentary committee on fake news, added: “It should be treated with the utmost seriousness in terms of law enforcement resources. Putin has publicly said that he kills traitors wherever they are in the world. Again, we don’t know what exactly happened here, but assuming he was poisoned then the most likely theory to pursue would be a Kremlin assassination plot similar to Litvinenko.”

Update: Our correspondent Marc Bennetts has clarified that Putin has never said this. In fact, he has stated that Russian special services do not kill traitors.

Updated

This map pinpoints the key locations.

Salisbury
Salisbury

It may only be coincidence but two of Skripal’s close family have recently died. Now he, and reportedly his daughter, have been found unconscious in Salisbury. His 43-year-old son died in St Petersburg last year. And his wife, Liudmila, died recently of natural causes.

Yulia Skripal was discovered next to her father on a bench and is in a critical condition in hospital.

She lives in Russia but was visiting the UK, the BBC reported. It said relatives had not heard from her for two days.

Updated

Yulia Skripal: 'second victim'

The BBC’s Tom Symonds has identified Skripal’s daughter Yulia as the second person found unconscious in Salisbury on Sunday.

Updated

Here’s a helpful graphic of the scene in Salisbury where Skripal was found unconscious.

Salisbury scene where Sergei Skripal and an unknown woman were found unconscious
Salisbury scene where Sergei Skripal and an unknown woman were found unconscious

Freya Church, 27, who spotted the pair “slumped” and “passed out” on the bench told the Press Association, the couple in the CCTV images were “100%” the people she saw on Sunday.

The gym worker, from Salisbury, said: “She was leaning on him, slumped. She looked passed out and he was looking up doing these hand movements (gesticulating upwards with arms). His eyes were glazed. To be honest I thought they were just homeless.”

CCTV of a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was found
CCTV of a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was found Photograph: Snap Fitness 24/7/PA

Updated

Litvinenko suspect Andrei Lugovoi has suggested the UK is paranoid about the Salisbury incident. “Considering that there are constant incidents in Britain with gentlemen who have fled Russia, there isn’t much to be surprised about here,” he told the RIA Novosti news agency.

He told Interfax: “The English suffer from phobias. If something happens to Russians, they immediately seek Russian fingermarks.”

Earlier he suggested it was a false flag operation.

Aside from Litvinenko, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper said at least two other Kremlin foes had been killed on foreign soil since Putin came to power.

Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, a Chechen separatist leader, died when a bomb ripped through his car in Qatar in 2004. Two GRU agents were jailed for life by a Qatari court but were extradited to Moscow less than a year after the trial. Their whereabouts are unknown. In 2005 a Russian official admitted they were not in jail.

Last year Denis Voronenkov, a Russian MP who turned against the Kremlin, was shot dead in Kiev, Ukraine. Moscow denied it was responsible for his murder.

Boris Berezovsky, a former oligarch who fled to Britain after falling out with Putin, died at his Berkshire home in 2013 in unclear circumstances. A coroner recorded an open verdict on his death.

Another Russian, Alexander Perepilichny, who had been assisting a Swiss investigation into Russian money-laundering, was found dead in 2012 in Britain. Police have ruled out foul play, despite suspicions that he may have been poisoned. An inquest has yet to give a final conclusion on the cause of death.

Updated

The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, has said she will be seeking assurances from the government. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she stopped short of calling for investigations into the mysterious deaths of other Russians on British soil to be reopened. But she said would be writing to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, to ask what assurances she could provide “if it does prove to be the case that the Russian state is involved”.

She said: “I don’t like defaulting to a ‘red menace’ analysis, but we can’t allow London and the Home Counties to become a kind of killing field for the Russian state and its enemies.”

Rudd could be asked to make a Commons statement.

Updated

Salisbury district hospital, where the pair are being treated, is open as normal.

A man who saw Skripal being treated by paramedics said he was in a “catatonic” state, Solent News Agency is reporting.

Graham Mulcock said: “The paramedics seemed to be struggling to keep the two people conscious. The man was sitting staring into space in a catatonic state. He was just staring ahead of himself.”

Updated

Andrei Lugovoi
Andrei Lugovoi
 Photograph: Misha Japaridze/AP

Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian agent believed to be behind the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, has suggested the incident in Salisbury is a false flag operation.

“I don’t rule out that this is another provocation by British intelligence agencies,” Lugovoi told Russia’s pro-Kremlin Vzglyad newspaper.

“Whatever happens on [British] territory, they start yelling: ‘He was killed, he was hung, he was poisoned!’ and that Russia is to blame for everything. This is to their advantage.”

CCTV image emerges

CCTV footage has emerged showing a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where Skripal was found.

Police took away an image, shot at 3.47pm on Sunday, from a camera at the gym Snap Fitness, according to the gym’s manager. Cain Prince, 28, said: “Police had a good look at the footage and were interested in these two people. It was the only image they took away.

“They wanted a list of everyone in the gym between 3 and 4pm as well.”

Prince added police said Skripal was “wearing a green coat”.

CCTV of a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was found
CCTV of a man and woman walking through an alleyway connecting Zizzi’s restaurant in Salisbury and the bench where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was found Photograph: Snap Fitness 24/7/PA

Updated

Marina Litvinenko and her son Anatoly listen as their lawyer, Ben Emmerson, speaks during a press conference in 2016.
Marina Litvinenko and her son Anatoly listen as their lawyer, Ben Emmerson, speaks during a press conference in 2016. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

Ben Emmerson QC, who represented the Litvinenko family at the inquest in London, called on the government to consider establishing a public inquiry into the suspected poisoning in Salisbury. He said:

If Sergei Skripal turns out to have been the target of a Russian assassination attempt, the prime minister and the home secretary must promptly announces a public inquiry to determine the extent of Kremlin involvement.

Theresa May initially refused to set up a public inquiry into the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko through the administration of the radioactive isotope polonium 210, which the Kremlin believed thought was undetectable.

One of the reasons May gave for this cowardly decision was that a public inquiry would harm the UK’s relationship with Russia. Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, had to go to the high court to get an order overturning May’s decision.

That unseemly spectacle should not be repeated here. The Russian state policy of assassinating political opponents – so-called enemies of the state – at home and abroad has been allowed to continue unchecked for too long. The international community has to send a clear message to the Kremlin that this is intolerable and must stop.

This is not the time for prevarication. May needs to act quickly and decisively and show the Russian state that if they send murder squads to Britain, we will be dogged in our search for the truth, without fear of the diplomatic fallout.

Updated

Summary

Welcome to live updates on the Russian spy incident as former spy Sergei Skripal fights for his life in Salisbury.

Here’s what we know so far:

  • Police are trying to establish what the substance was that Skripal, 66, and a woman in her 30s were exposed to in Salisbury over the weekend. The bench where the pair collapsed unconscious in the Maltings shopping centre next to the river Avon is still cordoned off on Tuesday morning, as is a nearby Italian chain restaurant.
  • The UK’s leading counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley, said his specialists were supporting the investigation that has led to a major incident being declared in Salisbury.
  • Rowley said the investigation could look at possible links with the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. “If you look back at other cases like Litvinenko, if necessary we will bring that investigation into the counter-terrorism network,” he said.
  • The Kremlin said it was ready to cooperate if Britain asked for help in its investigation of the “tragic situation”. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Nobody has approached us with such a request. Moscow is always open for cooperation.”
  • Skripal was one of four Russians exchanged for 10 deep cover “sleeper” agents planted by Moscow in the US in 2010. For more than five years he has been living quietly – though not hidden – in a modern red-brick home close to Salisbury city centre. Skripal and the woman, who has not been identified, collapsed on Sunday afternoon. Skripal was convicted of passing the identities of Russian agents working undercover in Europe to MI6 in 2006.
  • The pair were taken to Salisbury district hospital, where a major incident was delcared on Monday. Public Health England radiation and toxicology experts have been called in to help.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Jamie Lee Curtis recalls 'little family' with Robert Carradine in heartfelt tribute to late ex
Jamie Lee Curtis has paid tribute to David Carradine after his death, and opened up about the close bond their shared.
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
Obstructive sleep apnoea costs UK and US economies £137bn a year, research finds
Disease, which causes people to stop breathing while asleep, linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Eileen Gu Shouldn't Be Surprised That Americans Are Mad at Her for Competing for China
Plus: How to win the medal count, and how Free Agent readers want to fix the Olympics
Reason
Reason
What Is 'Diecided'? The Alleged Epstein-Linked Code Stirring Online Theories — and Why Selena Gomez and Candace Owens Are Being Mentioned
Explore the intriguing 'diecided' term from Epstein's emails, its connection to Selena Gomez, and the rise of clone theories
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Nearly half of Americans unaware of link between eating processed meat and colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the US
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
“A historically significant instrument directly tied to the evolution of modern funk”: The bass Bootsy Collins used to record a James Brown anthem has been listed on eBay
The Fender Jazz Bass bought at auction for $40,000, has now been listed on eBay for almost twice as much. But you’ll have to bid an extra $299 if you want the original strings
Guitar World
Guitar World
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play