UK to give 'robust' response to ex-Russian spy incident

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

The U.K. government will respond "appropriately and robustly" depending on an investigation into an incident that saw former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter critically hospitalized last Sunday in Salisbury, England.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Tuesday told members of the House of Commons during an urgent question hour session over the recent incident that the investigation remained ongoing.

"Honorable members will note the echoes of the death of [former KGB agent] Alexander Litvinenko in 2006," Johnson said.

"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," he said.

On the other hand, Kremlin has denied any Russian involvement in the incident.

"Accusations were not long in coming. I'm sorry, I can't give you any reaction, because we don't have any information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday morning.

"You know how he [Skripal] turned out to be in the West, as a result of what actions and decisions. I will not repeat it," Peskov said.

Johnson said it was "too early to speculate… 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," he said, and later went on to describe Russia as a "malign and destructive force".

"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 U.K. soil will go either unsanctioned or unpunished," he said.

According to Russia’s official news agency TASS, a Russian Embassy spokesman said the embassy "has asked the U.K. Foreign Office to provide explanations about the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence [GRU] Col. Sergey Skripal and his female companion in Salisbury".

Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, 33, were admitted to a hospital after being found unconscious in Salisbury on Sunday.

Both are reportedly critically ill as emergency services said they believed they were exposed to an unknown substance.

Skripal was granted refuge in the U.K. following a spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia in 2010. He had been convicted of "high treason in the form of espionage" by a Moscow military court in 2006 and was sentenced to imprisonment for 13 years after admitting he leaked information to British intelligence services.

He is one of four Russians exchanged for 10 "sleeper" agents planted by Moscow in the U.S.

Police probe

Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious in the Maltings shopping center on Sunday afternoon.

"The pair […] are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance," and "both are currently in a critical condition in intensive care," a police statement said.

"As part of our inquiries, a number of scenes, including a restaurant and a pub have been secured," police also said.

Sunday's unexplained incident is reminiscent of the poisoning of former KGB agent, Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko by a radioactive substance in 2006.

Litvinenko died at the hospital shortly after taking polonium-210 while drinking tea in a central London hotel.

His family believes he was working for British intelligence services at the time and was killed by Russian secret agents.

Former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun have been identified as the prime suspects, however, both have denied any involvement.

*Elena Teslova from Moscow contributed to this report.