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Russia summons UK ambassador after allegations Moscow was behind nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal

Theresa May says Russia 'highly likely' to blame for military-grade nerve agent poisoning

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 13 March 2018 07:56 EDT
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Sergei Skripal: What we know so far

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Russia has summoned the British ambassador in Moscow after it was accused of carrying out a nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal, according to Russian news agencies.

The foreign ministry was quoted as saying Laurie Bristow must visit the ministry later on Tuesday.

However, a spokesman for the British embassy in Russia said Mr Bristow was not summoned but instead had a pre-planned meeting with Russia's deputy foreign minister, Vladimir Titov.

It comes after the Russia's foreign minister told Theresa May it “is not to blame” for the attack in Salisbury.

Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had demanded access to samples of the military-grade nerve agent.

He said the British government had refused to provide access to materials and samples related to the case.

On Monday, Theresa May told Parliament that Russia is "highly likely" to blame for poisoning Mr Skripal and his daughter with a military-grade nerve agent.

The Prime Minister said Russia has until the end of Tuesday to explain how the substance ended up in Britain.

The police and MI5 will look into allegations of Russian state involvement in a string of deaths on UK soil, the Government announced.

The announcement by the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, followed reports claiming US intelligence sources suspect as many as 14 people may have been assassinated in Britain by Russia's security services or mafia groups.

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