Tweet
Two Russian nationals have been named as suspects in the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
The men, using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, are thought to be officers from Russia's military intelligence service, the PM said.
Scotland Yard and the CPS say there is enough evidence to charge the men.
Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in March.
Det Sgt Nick Bailey also fell ill after responding to the incident in Salisbury.
Police are linking the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on 30 June, when Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley became unwell at a house in Amesbury, about eight miles from Salisbury.
Ms Sturgess died in hospital on 8 July. Mr Rowley was discharged from hospital on 20 July.
Speaking to ITV News on Wednesday, he said he wanted to see the suspects "brought to justice".
Speaking in the Commons, Prime Minister Theresa May said the government had concluded, from intelligence provided by UK agencies, that the men were part of the GRU intelligence service.
The poisoning was "not a rogue operation" and was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state, she said.
The two suspects, believed to have been using aliases, travelled on Russian passports and are thought to be aged about 40.
The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera said he understood the authorities identified the pair "a while back" and "may also know their real names" and had hoped by not making this information public, they could intercept them should they continue to travel.
He said there was little expectation that the pair would end up in a British court, but releasing the evidence would instead add pressure with the intention of "deterring Russia from doing something similar again".
(...)
The men, using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, are thought to be officers from Russia's military intelligence service, the PM said.
Scotland Yard and the CPS say there is enough evidence to charge the men.
Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in March.
Det Sgt Nick Bailey also fell ill after responding to the incident in Salisbury.
Police are linking the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on 30 June, when Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley became unwell at a house in Amesbury, about eight miles from Salisbury.
Ms Sturgess died in hospital on 8 July. Mr Rowley was discharged from hospital on 20 July.
Speaking to ITV News on Wednesday, he said he wanted to see the suspects "brought to justice".
Speaking in the Commons, Prime Minister Theresa May said the government had concluded, from intelligence provided by UK agencies, that the men were part of the GRU intelligence service.
The poisoning was "not a rogue operation" and was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state, she said.
The two suspects, believed to have been using aliases, travelled on Russian passports and are thought to be aged about 40.
The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera said he understood the authorities identified the pair "a while back" and "may also know their real names" and had hoped by not making this information public, they could intercept them should they continue to travel.
He said there was little expectation that the pair would end up in a British court, but releasing the evidence would instead add pressure with the intention of "deterring Russia from doing something similar again".
(...)
Comment