The nerve agent is “of a type developed by Russia”.

But no one has actually confirmed it was actually made in Russia?” 

Timeline of events

• Yulia Skripal flew into London's Heathrow Airport on a flight from Russia at about 14:40 GMT on 3 March
• On 4 March, at about 09:15 GMT, Mr Skripal's car was seen in Salisbury in the area of London Road, Churchill Way North and Wilton Road
• At 13:30 GMT his car was seen driving down Devizes Road, towards the town centre
• Mr Skripal and his daughter arrived at the Sainsbury's upper level car park at the Maltings shopping precinct at 13:40 GMT
• Police said the pair went to The Mill pub before going to Zizzi restaurant at 14:20 GMT, staying until 15:35 GMT

• At 16:15 GMT emergency services received the first report of an incident.
• Police found the pair on a bench outside Zizzi in an "extremely serious condition"
• A police officer who fell ill after attending the incident - Det Sgt Nick Bailey - was treated in hospital but discharged on 22 March
• 48 people were assessed in hospital in relation to the incident
• Only Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia remain in hospital
• Investigators have identified 131 people who have potentially been in contact with the nerve agent. None has shown symptoms

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "overwhelmingly likely" to have ordered the attack.

He also said the UK government had evidence Russia had been stockpiling the nerve agent used in the attack over the last 10 years and had investigated ways of delivering such weapons for assassination.

OK two points regarding the above.

1. "Overwhelmingly likely" is not irrefutable evidence.
2. If the "UK Government had evidence that Russia had been stockpiling the nerve agent used in the attack over the last 10 years" why hadn't the UK government reported it to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 

“The same people who assured you Saddam Hussein had WMDs now assure you Russian ‘novichok’ nerve agents are being wielded by Vladimir Putin to attack people on British soil.”

Aitkenhead said the government had reached its conclusion that Russia was responsible for the Salisbury attack by combining the laboratory’s scientific findings with information from other sources. 

The UK government moved quickly to make it clear that the prime minister, Theresa May, had always been clear the assessment from Porton Down was “only one part of the intelligence picture”. The comments came hours before an extraordinary meeting in The Hague of the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), called by Russia.

However, two weeks ago Boris Johnson was asked by an interviewer on Deutsche Welle, Germany’s public international broadcaster, how the UK had been able to find out the novichok originated from Russia so quickly.

He replied: “When I look at the evidence, the people from Porton Down, the laboratory, they were absolutely categorical. I asked the guy myself, I said: ‘Are you sure?’ And he said: ‘There’s no doubt.’ So we have very little alternative but to take the action that we have taken.”

Here's a question...
We are led to believe the highest concentration of the Nerve Agent was on his door. The police went straight to his house the same day. It was four days later they turned up with protective suits. How come the police that entered the house, unprotected, through the door that we are told had the most contamination on it are not all in hospital?


In 2010 on a TV interview Putin said this

“Traitors will kick the bucket, believe me. Those other folks betrayed their friends, their brother in arms,” Mr Putin said.
“Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them.”

An interesting twist if true ...

Julia Davis@JuliaDavisNews

#Russia's state TV reports that an unnamed high-level White House source quietly told the Russians that the number of Russian diplomats in the U.S. is not being cut (they can send 60 other diplomats to replace the ones being expelled). They quote the source: "The doors are open."
10:08 PM - Mar 29, 2018

Unfortunately we will never know now... even if there was proof that it wasn't Russia. Do we really think that all the countries who have accused Russia will climb down and apologise. Nyet... that's why it was dangerous to claim that it was Russia when they havnt got conclusive proof. Once they had that, it would be fair game... Russia couldn't deny it and the world wouldn't be dealing with the onset of a new cold war.

I mean lets face it with Russia's history it probably was them, but I feel its a bit gun ho to go off making accusations without irrefutable evidence. In this area Corbyn has proved to be the sensible one yet again. Maintaining that we should not rush ahead of the available evidence.

If it was Russia then no one wants to see them get away with it again, if indeed they have in the past. Again no irrefutable evidence has been put forward. 

But also we shouldn't be too quick to rush into a new cold war based on a mistake and politicians have made a few of those in the past.


LINKS

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/boris-johnson-issues-completely-new-story-on-russian-novichoks
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/16/skripal-attack-talk-war-vladimir-putin-theresa-may?CMP=share_btn_fb
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/unlikely-that-vladimir-putin-behind-skripal-poisoning-1.3425736
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/vladimir-putin-demands-thorough-probe-into-salisbury-poisonings/ar-AAvq8gE?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sergei-skripal-mi6-handler-s-network-of-dissidents-78ckhrvcm
Russian spy: The police, the public and the poison
Russian spy: What we know so far
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201803131062469325-russia-nerve-agent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/uk-russia-nerve-agent-attack-spy-poisoning-sergei-skripal-salisbury-accusations-evidence-explanation-a8258911.html
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/14/17120696/russian-novichok-skripal-nerve-agent-chemical-weapon-poisoning-england
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/nerve-agent-novichok-produced-russia-site-expert
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/15/uks-claims-questioned-doubts-emerge-about-source-of-salisburys-novichok
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/03/no-10-tries-to-calm-russia-row-amid-cold-war-rhetoric
Russia spy row: UK lab could be poison source, says ambassador
The long, terrifying history of Russian dissidents being poisoned abroad
Alexander Litvinenko: Profile of murdered Russian spy
Video re-emerges of Putin threat that 'traitors will kick the bucket'
https://www.rt.com/news/422871-russia-questions-uk-skripal-case/

PUTIN LINKS
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/putin-failed-scare-world-180305232554472.html
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin
Putin promises spending spree in pre-election speech
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/how-putin-does-it/
http://www.russialies.com/