News story: Novichok nerve agent use in Salisbury: UK government response

Updated: Sir Mark Sedwill's latest statement added

On Sunday 4 March Sergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned in Salisbury with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia.

Latest updates

On 21 March UK National Security Advisor Sir Mark Sedwill gave a statement on his meeting with the EU High Representative, senior EU officials and representatives of member states.

Russian State’s disinformation

Writing for the Telegraph on 20 March, the Foreign Secretary looks at the Russian State’s disruptive behaviour in Russian elections and the Salisbury attack.

Russian disinformation

NATO joint press conference

The Foreign Secretary and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a joint press conference on 19 March.

European Foreign Ministers express their solidarity

The Foreign Secretary spoke to the media before the Foreign Affairs Council on 19 March and the Foreign Affairs Council issued a statement.

Foreign Ministers express solidarity

Prime Minister’s latest statement

Prime Minister Theresa May gave a statement to Parliament on 14 March. Russia has provided no explanation as to how this agent came to be used in the UK, and there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian State was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter. This represents an unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister stated that the UK government will:

expel 23 Russian diplomats who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers develop proposals for new legislative powers to harden our defences against Hostile State Activity and ensure those seeking to carry out such activity cannot enter the UK suspend all planned high-level contacts between the UK and the Russian Federation

On 17 March the Foreign & Commonwealth Office issued a statement in response to the Russian government’s decision to expel UK diplomats, following the British Ambassador’s meeting with the Russian government.

Russia’s impact on global security

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote an article in the Washington Post setting out Russia’s threat to global security.

The Kremlin has positioned Russia in direct opposition to the West

Earlier statements

On 12 March Prime Minister Theresa May gave a statement in Parliament. Either this was a direct act by the Russian State against our country, or the Russian government lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the BBC and reiterated the Prime Minister’s message.

Russian state aggression in the past few years

Pattern of Russian state aggression

Home Secretary’s initial statement

On 8 March the Home Secretary Amber Rudd gave an initial statement on the investigation into events in Salisbury. This followed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s response to an Urgent Question in Parliament on 6 March.

International leaders respond

The leaders of France, Germany, the US and the UK have issued a joint statement on the Salisbury attack.

The Prime Minister has spoken with world leaders about the ongoing investigation. Each expressed their solidarity with the UK:

call with Japanese Prime Minister Abe call with Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki call with Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni call with Australian Prime Minister Turnbull call with French President Macron on 15 March and on 12 March call with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau call with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg call with US President Trump call with German Chancellor Merkel

The Foreign Secretary also called for a united response with our international counterparts.

Find out more about the international response in our Twitter Moment.

International organisations Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Peter Wilson, UK Permanent Representative gave an update to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This follows his statement to the OPCW on 13 March.

Independent technical experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrive in the UK on 19 March to begin their investigation into the nerve agent used in the attempted assassinations in Salisbury.

Independent OPCW investigation

Other international organisations

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office also raised this issue in other international forums:

National Security Advisor Sir Mark Sedwill briefed the NATO North Atlantic Council Head of UK Delegation Sian MacLeod gave a statement to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Ambassador Jonathan Allen gave a briefing to the United Nations Security Council in the 37th Human Rights Council session Julian Braithwaite, the UK Permanent Representative, gave a statement to the United Nations in Geneva Related announcements

On 15 March Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced a £48 million investment in a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre to maintain our cutting-edge in chemical analysis and defence.

Advice and guidance latest Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice for Russia Public Health England advice for people in Salisbury

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/novichok-nerve-agent-use-in-salisbury-uk-government-response

seen at 14:30, 22 March in Announcements on GOV.UK.
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