UK Nerve Agent Poisoning: Police trying to determine if Novichok was 'same batch' as ex-spy case

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Europe

03:16

A second nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury, England. Britain says Russia is behind the latest incident but Moscow denies any involvement. Two British citizens remain in a critical condition after being exposed to a similar substance used in the attack against a former Russian spy and his daughter four months ago. Paul Barber has the latest.

Police stand guard at the Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury. It's believed to be one of the areas visited by the two British citizens now critically ill in the hospital. Authorities say Dawn Sturgess and Charles Rowly, both in their mid-40s were poisoned by a lethal toxin. The couple collapsed at home on Saturday in Amesbury, Wiltshire - just a few miles from Salisbury.

SAM HOBSON FRIEND OF VICTIMS "He was sweating loads, dribbling, and you couldn't speak to him. He was making funny noises and he was rocking backwards and forwards and there was no response from him, he didn't even know I was there. It's like he was in another world, hallucinating."

Speaking in parliament after an emergency meeting of the government's security committee, Interior Minister Sajid Javid confirmed the couple were exposed to the same kind of Novichok nerve agent used against former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March. That led to a decontamination operation across the city.

SAJID JAVID BRITISH HOME SECRETARY "Our strong working assumption is that the couple came into contact with the nerve agent in a different location to the sites which have been part of the original clean-up operation."

Yet, authorities haven't confirmed if the nerve agent in the latest incident came from the same batch as the Skripal case, but believe it is related - and that may produce new leads about the identity of the perpetrators. Britain has blamed Russia for the attack on the Skripals and says the country now has more questions to answer.

SAJID JAVID BRITISH HOME SECRETARY "The eyes of the world are currently on Russia not least because of the World Cup. It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on. It is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets all for streets our parks our towns to be dumping grounds for poison."

Moscow says it was deeply concerned about the poisoning but categorically denies any involvement, and renewed calls for the UK to allow Russia to participate in a joint investigation. It said the UK police should not get involved in any "dirty political games".

MARIA ZAKHAROVA RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY "For the sake of the security of residents on our continent we are calling on the government of British Prime Minister Theresa May to end intrigues and games with chemical agents and to stop placing obstacles in the way of the joint investigation of what happened on the territory of Great Britain involving Russian citizens."

Health officials back in England say the risk of Novichok exposure to the wider public is low - but for locals - this feels like a recurring nightmare.

ROY COLLINS AMESBURY BAPTIST CHURCH SECRETARY "We feel violated, it seems as though something awful has happened to a friendly community, and we feel that somebody has taken advantage of us. We really feel hurt by all that has gone on."

PAUL BARBER LONDON "The Skripal poisoning had begun to fade from public consciousness. Now the fact that Novichok nerve agent has once again risked lives on British soil raises questions of international concern. Paul Barber, CGTN, London."