The niece of poisoner Russian spy Sergei Skripal has been denied a visa to enter Britain, the Home Office has said.

Viktoria Skripal, had planned to travel to Britain to take Sergei's daughter Yulia back to Russia, it was reported, and claimed her relatives only suffered from food poisoning.

In a statement the Home Office said: 'We have refused a visitor visa application from Viktoria Skripal on the grounds that her application did not comply with the immigration rules.'

Sergei and Yulia Skripal are being treated in hospital after being found unconscious on March 4 after an attack with nerve agent, but both are no longer in critical condition.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is seeking an explanation for the refusal to grant Viktoria a visa.

Russian state television on played a recording of what they said was a phone call from Yulia to her cousin, Viktoria Skripal, in Russia. In it, Yulia said she would be discharged soon.

Viktoria, who works as a chief accountant in the city of Yaroslavl, told The Associated Press on Friday that she has no doubt it was Yulia who called and that she has not heard from her since.

She said the call was recorded because she has an app on her phone to keep track of all the calls she makes for work.

'I made this recording, that was Yulia,' she said.

Viktoria also told Sky News she believes Yulia and Sergei 'ate something wrong' at a pub they visited before collapsing on a public bench in Salisbury city centre.

She said neither Yulia nor her father Sergei believed they would be attacked adding: 'Until this situation is resolved, my opinion will remain with me.

'I will stick with a simple theory that they ate something wrong at the pub, as well as the option that Yulia brought this with her on the plane from someone she knew.'

Asked who she believes was behind the attack on her relatives, Viktoria replied: 'I am not a fortuneteller.'

Dr. Christine Blanshard, the medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement that 66-year-old Sergei Skripal 'is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition.'

Yulia Skripal, 33, regained consciousness last week and is now in stable condition, she said.

Blanshard said Friday that Yulia Skripal could 'look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital,' but called any speculation about her release date 'just that - speculation.'

Scientists said the Skripals' recovery was not unprecedented. Nerve agents work by blocking an enzyme in the body that lets nerves communicate with each other and with the body's organs.

Alastair Hay, professor emeritus of Environmental Toxicology at the University of Leeds, said recovery can happen over time because 'eventually the body will restore the enzyme to full capacity, and nerve function will be restored.'

Michelle Carlin, senior lecturer in forensic and analytical chemistry at Northumbria University, said there is limited knowledge about the long-term effects of Novichok poisoning, but 'neurological damage has been reported in other historic cases.' </s> The Home Office have rejected a visa application by Viktoria Skripal - cousin of Yulia, who was poisoned in the Salisbury attack.

The poisoned Russia's cousin will not be allowed to visit Britain after it was reported that she was deliberately being coached by Moscow to discredit Yulia.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We have refused a visitor visa application from Viktoria Skripal on the grounds that her application did not comply with the Immigration Rules."

It came after reports that Yulia Skripal had declined to meet Russian consular officials, amid British claims that she was poisoned with a nerve agent by an operation staged by Moscow’s secret services.

Speaking on Russian state TV before being denied entry Viktoria Skirpal said: "I currently have one objective: to fly there and take away Yulia, at least Yulia.”

She also said she was in regular contact with Russia’s ambassador to London, Alexander Yakovenko.

Yulia is facing growing abuse in her homeland.

A barrage of hostile comments - some implying she was part of an British secret services plot to damage Vladimir Putin - coincide with claims that her apparent telephone call with relative Viktoria Skripal was scripted by her official minders in Salisbury.

Yesterday the Met issued a statement on behalf of Yulia Skripal.

She said: "I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily."

It comes as it was revealed poisoned former spy, Sergei Skripal is "responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition", according to doctors at Salisbury District Hospital.

Skripal has remained in a critical condition in hospital for a month after he, and his daughter Yulia, were attacked with a nerve agent on March 4.

While Yulia started improving last week and has since regained consciousness Sergei did not show signs of improvements.

But now doctors have said the 66-year-old is "responding well to treatment" and "is no longer in a critical condition".

Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said: "I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the condition of the two remaining patients being treated at Salisbury District Hospital.

"Last Thursday, I informed you that Yulia Skripal's condition had improved to stable. As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital.

"Any speculation on when that date will be is just that - speculation. In the meantime, Yulia has asked for privacy while she continues to get better - something I'd like to urge the media to respect.

"I also want to update you on the condition of her father, Sergei Skripal. He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition.

"As you'll appreciate, I won't be giving any further updates at this time."

Upon hearing the latest condition check the Russian Embassy also took to social media to say it was "Good news". </s> The niece of poisoned spy Sergei Skripal has said her uncle and cousin have only a slim chance of surviving.

The niece of poisoned spy Sergei Skripal has said her uncle and cousin have only a slim chance of surviving.

Viktoria Skripal said the prognosis for the former Russian double agent and his daughter Yulia "really isn't good", as the pair remain in a critical condition following the Novichok attack in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on March 4.

She also revealed that Mr Skripal's mother had not been told of the incident. She told the BBC: "Out of 99pc I have maybe 1pc of hope. Whatever it was has given them a very small chance of survival. But they're going to be invalids for the rest of their lives."

She added: "The first priority was to protect our granny so that she wouldn't hear or find out anything." Her comments came as countries across the world joined the UK in diplomatic action against Russia, which has been blamed for the attack.

Theresa May hailed the "unprecedented series of expulsions" of Russian diplomats, which she said sent a strong message to Moscow that it could not ignore international law. The Russian Embassy in the UK said the Prime Minister had had still not presented evidence that the country was responsible for the poisonings, adding that "no-one in the wider world would take British words for granted".

It also responded to claims by officials that more than 20 different stories had come out of Moscow since the attack to "try and confuse the picture". A statement posted on its website read: "This only confirms the openness of the Russian society and the independence of Russian media, which Prime Minister May wrongly confuses with the Russian state.

"Let's also not forget that at least five different versions of the poisoning have been 'leaked' by the police to British media: the Skripals were either poisoned in a pub, or in a restaurant, or in their car, or by putting the chemical into Ms Skripal's suitcase, or by smearing their door handle.

"To see Russia being accused of spreading false rumours in this context is rather surprising." On Wednesday, Ireland became the 24th country to join the the UK in diplomatic action against the Kremlin.

With Downing Street saying that more than 115 Russian diplomats had been ordered home by friends and allies, Dublin added one more to the list. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, hinted that the Kremlin would respond with tit-for-tat expulsions, saying Russia would proceed from the "principle of reciprocity". </s> If the Skripals came into contact with the deadly nerve agent at their doorstep, how did they have the ability to first go to a pub and a restaurant before they succumbed?

LONDON — It is an indelicate question, but why aren’t the Skripals dead?

The former Russian double agent attacked by a military-grade nerve agent a month ago is no longer in critical condition, his doctors said Friday, joining his daughter in a recovery that could lead to the pair helping investigators solve the mystery of exactly how, where and by whom they were poisoned.

Sergei Skripal, 66, is “responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition,” said Christine Blanshard, medical director at the Salisbury district hospital. Officials did not say whether the ex-spy had regained consciousness, as daughter Yulia Skripal did last week.

Yulia Skripal, 33, was also poisoned, but her condition had improved to stable last week. She is speaking, issuing statements and reportedly talking to relatives back home in Russia on the telephone.

“As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital,” her doctor said.

How can this be? As the Russian government has asked, in its campaign to discredit British assertions that Russia was behind the attack, why didn’t the Skripals collapse immediately if they were poisoned by a powerful nerve agent? If they came into contact with the agent at their doorstep — as British police said — how did they have the ability to first go to a pub and a restaurant before they succumbed?

The Skripals were found March 4 on a park bench in the cathedral city of Salisbury, she comatose, he awake but disoriented.

Medical experts attributed their recovery to the readily available treatments and antidotes they likely received at the hospital.

“Poisoning does not necessarily result in death,” said Michelle Carlin, a senior lecturer in forensic and analytical chemistry at Northumbria University. “If treated quickly and promptly enough, it is possible to recover from poisoning of many compounds.”

Asked if it was surprising that at least one of the Skripals regained consciousness after several weeks in a coma, Carlin said: “We don’t really know what normal is with Novichok agents, but what you’ve got to remember is their body has been poisoned with a compound, and although giving somebody an antidote will block the signal, the body still needs time to recover, and it needs to recover naturally, and obviously that takes time.”

She said it was difficult to discern why Yulia Skripal recovered faster than her father. “We don’t know if that’s because she had less administered, or it took longer to have an effect or because she’s younger or healthier — there’s too many factors to take into account,” she said.

Toxicologists and medical forensic specialists said nerve agents are most dangerous in the first few days after an attack, but given that the Skripals pulled through that, it wasn’t surprising that their condition was improving.

Malcolm Sperrin, a medical physicist, said a long-term prognosis for the Skripals remained uncertain. Referring to Yulia, he said, “She might talk and converse, but what we don’t know is if she will go back to where she was before the event, not just about cognition, but there’s other aspects that could be affected, like mobility, problems with mental state, anxiety, depression, there are so many unknowns.”

Britain said the improving health of the Skripals is “a tribute to the hardworking and talented National Health Service staff in Salisbury who have provided outstanding care.”

After the doctor’s statement Friday that the elder Skripal’s health also had improved, the Russian Embassy to the United Kingdom tweeted, “Good news!”

Russian officials have accused Britain of denying them access to Yulia Skripal. The British government said the choice not to meet with Russian officials, at least not yet, was hers. “We have conveyed to Ms. Skripal the Russian Embassy’s offer of consular assistance,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement released Thursday night. “Ms. Skripal is now able to choose if and when to take up this offer, but to date she has not done so.”

Russia has denied having anything to do with the attack, with top Russian diplomats insisting Britain either rushed or bungled the investigation — or that British agents may have poisoned the father and daughter to smear Russia.

A director of the Porton Down British military laboratory said this week that the nerve agent was from the Novichok class, a type designed and manufactured by the former Soviet Union. The lab, however, could not definitely say where the agent was manufactured.

Citing that failure, Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, further muddied the waters, saying in a Facebook post Friday that the Skripals’ pets — two guinea pigs and a cat — had been killed by the British and then cremated to destroy evidence relating to the nerve agent used against Yulia and Sergei Skripal.

“Our sources indicate that BBC television company was aware that pets remained in the house, but for some reason, it concealed this information,” she wrote. “It would be nice to have a clarification. P.S. I’m not drawing any conclusions. This might be just a coincidence. But experiments with nerve agents in Porton Down were conducted specifically on guinea pigs.”

Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Friday that the house had been sealed after police recognized that the Skripals had been poisoned with a nerve agent. Regrettably, “two guinea pigs had sadly died” by the time someone entered the home to see about the animals, the statement said, and “a cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanize the animal to alleviate its suffering.”

One theory shared on Russian social media is that the Skripals were the victims of a vengeance attack by the mother of Yulia’s live-in boyfriend, who reportedly has ties to Russia’s security apparatus. Yulia Skripal’s cousin Viktoria Skripal said she knew nothing about the boyfriend other than he lived with Yulia and that “he’s close to all those structures, you understand.”

The couple’s apartment in the town of Podolsk, just south of Moscow, seemed to have been vacated. Mail had piled up in the letter box and nobody answered the door. Neighbors said he had moved out to his dacha.

Sergei Skripal was a double agent who sold secrets to Britain. He was convicted and jailed in Russia but released in a swap of intelligence agents in 2010.

A version of this story was originally published on washingtonpost.com. Read it here. </s> British police launched a murder investigation Sunday after the death of a woman who was exposed to a Russian nerve agent.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, of Durrington, was exposed to the nerve agent Novichok in Amesbury, police said. Her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, 45, also fell ill on June 30 and remains hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

About 100 police detectives led by the Counter Terrorism Policing Network are working on the case around the clock, police said. Authorities are still trying to determine where and how the two were exposed to the nerve agent.

"This is shocking and tragic news. Dawn leaves behind her family, including three children, and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time,” said Neil Basu, an assistant commissioner who is head of Counter Terrorism Policing for the United Kingdom. "This terrible news has only served to strengthen our resolve to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible for what I can only describe as an outrageous, reckless and barbaric act.”

The couple were found by emergency services about 10 miles from Salisbury, where Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the same nerve agent on March 4. Britain blamed Russia for the Skripals’ poisoning.

“The working assumption would be that these are victims of either the consequence of the previous attack, or something else, but not that they were directly targeted,” Security Minister Ben Wallace told the BBC.

“Russia has categorically denied and continues to categorically deny the possibility of any kind of involvement to what was happening there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters July 5. “The British side has not presented any evidence of Russia’s involvement in this, besides unfounded accusations.”

The case began with a 10:15 a.m. ambulance call June 30 to a residence in Amesbury, where Sturgess had collapsed. About 3:30 p.m., the ambulance was called to the same residence to care for the man.

The UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory confirmed on July 4 that Sturgess and her boyfriend had both been exposed to Novichok, police said. No one else at the scene developed the same symptoms.

Further tests from Sturgess and Rowley showed that they were exposed to the nerve agent after touching a contaminated item with their hands, police said.

Police said there is no evidence that either of them visited any of the sites that were decontaminated following the attempted murders of the Skripals. Police couldn’t say whether the four were all contaminated from the same batch of nerve agent. </s> LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) - Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned in England last month along with her Russian ex-spy father, said on Wednesday (April 11) she has refused consular assistance from the Russian embassy.

Skripal was discharged from hospital on Monday, more than a month after the March 4 nerve agent attack in the English town of Salisbury which has sparked a global diplomatic crisis.

While her whereabouts are unknown, Skripal said she is being supported by police officers who are keeping her informed of their high-profile investigation.

"I have access to friends and family, and I have been made aware of my specific contacts at the Russian embassy who have kindly offered me their assistance in any way they can," she said in a note issued by London's Metropolitan Police.

"At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services, but, if I change my mind I know how to contact them," she added.

Yulia Skripal was visiting her father when the attack took place. Sergei Skripal was imprisoned in Russia for selling secrets to British intelligence in the 1990s but was exchanged in a spy swap in 2010.

London blames Moscow for the attack, an accusation vehemently denied by the Russian government which has requested access to the Skripals as Russian citizens.

The ex-spy's daughter said her father "is still seriously ill" and said she herself is "still suffering with the effects of the nerve agent used against us".

"Most importantly, I am safe and feeling better as time goes by," she added.

Responding to reports that the pair may be resettled, the Russian embassy to London said: "Secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal, barred from any contact with their family, will be seen as an abduction or at least as their forced isolation."

Sergei Skripal's niece, Viktoria Skripal, has spoken to Russian media about the poisoning and last week saw her application to visit Britain rejected, with officials saying it did not comply with immigration rules.

Yulia Skripal on Wednesday cast doubt on her cousin's account, saying: "Her opinions and assertions are not mine and they are not my father's."

"I thank my cousin Viktoria for her concern for us, but ask that she does not visit me or try to contact me for the time being," she said. </s> The Foreign Office has said it is considering a request from Russia to see Yulia Skripal over the Salisbury poisoning. The Russian embassy tweeted to demand to see her in hospital, despite the fact the UK Government has accused the Russian state of being behind the nerve agent attack on her and her father, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal. The embassy tweeted on Friday that it was “good news” Yulia Skripal’s condition was improving and added they “insist on our right to see her” in hospital in Salisbury, where she has been since the poisoning on March 4.

On Saturday, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are considering requests for consular access in line with our obligations under international and domestic law, including the rights and wishes of Yulia Skripal.” Yulia Skripal, 33, has spent three weeks in a critical condition after she and her father were exposed to Novichok. Sergei Skripal, 66, father remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital. On Thursday, the hospital said Yulia Skripal is “improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition”. “She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day,” the hospital said. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack. Governments, including the UK and US, have expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning.

Russia has expelled 23 British diplomats from Moscow in a tit-for-tat response to Britain expelling the same number of Russians. On Friday, the Kremlin ordered Britain to further reduce the number of diplomats in Moscow down to the same amount that Russia has in London. It came as ambassadors from more than 20 countries were called into the foreign ministry in Moscow to be told of the latest wave of retaliatory measures being imposed. The Russian embassy also accused British authorities of “another blatant provocation” after an Aeroflot flight was allegedly searched by Border Force officers at Heathrow. An embassy official suggested that the jet, which had arrived from Moscow on a scheduled return trip, had been searched in connection with the diplomatic crisis over the Salisbury spy poisoning. </s> The daughter of a former Russian spy left seriously ill after being poisoned in Salisbury has said "everything is fine" and claimed she will soon be discharged from hospital, according to an unverified recording.

Yulia Skripal is also claimed to have said her father Sergei was "sleeping" and "resting" and that "nobody has got anything they won’t recover from" in a telephone conversation sent to Russian State TV.

The recording was played at the same time Yulia released an official statement via the Met Police in which she said that her 'strength was growing daily'.

The phone conversation was released by Victoria Skripal, Sergei Skripal's niece, who claims she recorded a conversation with her cousin before sending it to broadcaster Russia 1.

It was revealed last week that Yulia was conscious and talking after waking from a coma she went into after being poisoned with a deadly nerve agent, alongside her father, in March.

See the full alleged phone conversation below

The unverified recording of the conversation, in which Yulia is said to have phoned her cousin, was played in Russia 1's lunchtime news show.

In the conversation, Victoria also said that she will fly to London on Monday if she is granted a visa.

It was reported last week that Ms Skripal was no longer in a critical condition and was improving rapidly.

But the 33-year-old was still in need of round the clock care at Salisbury District Hospital where she was taken after being poisoned with nerve agent Novichok.

Her father was said to still be in a coma, but when asked about his health, Yulia allegedly said: "He’s fine, now he’s resting, sleeping. Everybody’s healthy, everybody’s fine.

"Nobody has got anything they won’t recover from. I’ll be discharged soon. Everything’s ok."

Both the Skripals have been in hospital since the attack on March 4 when they were found slumped on a bench near a shopping centre in Salisbury.

Prior to the condition check last week, relatives has said they feared both only had a slim chance of survival.

However, experts at Salisbury NHS Trust said that Ms Skripal's condition had improved and her condition was downgraded from critical.

Court documents had previously said the mental capacity of the pair may be compromised to an unknown degree.

The papers showed that while Mr Skripal was unable to communicate in any way, his daughter was unable to communicate in any "meaningful way".

The Court of Protection in London also said it was not possible to say when or to what extent Sergei and Yulia Skripal may "regain capacity"

The positive update on Ms Skripal's condition came the day after police revealed she and her dad likely first came into contact with the Novichok at their front door.

The Metropolitan Police announced detectives believe the pair first came into contact with the nerve agent there.

Specialists have identified the highest concentration of Novichok - a rare and highly toxic substance - as being on the Skripals' front door, the force added.

The poisoning has led to a heightening diplomatic row between Russia and the UK and its allies.

The Kremlin will tonight drag the row over the poisoning to the UN Security Council.

The council meets later after Moscow seized on Britain deleting a tweet that wrongly claimedPorton Down had traced the nerve agent used in the attack to Russia.

Today it was reported that despite the row, British spooks know which Russian lab produced the nerve agent which poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4.

Security minister Ben Wallace told the BBC: "That nerve agent has been identified to being manufactured we believe in Russia.

"We believe that the nerve agent, the Novichok type of nerve agent, is only capable of being produced by a nation state.

"And then we add that to intelligence we hold, we add that to some of the police investigation that's going on right now.

"And we can say that roads lead to Russia, that we are beyond reasonable doubt of the view that the Russian state is behind this."

Y Hello, can you hear me?

V Ah Yulka, it’s you! (general astonishment) I can't believe it - have they given you a phone?

V Thank God Is everything Ok with you?

V If I get a visa tomorrow and coming to see you on Monday

Y Nobody will give you one!

V [some discussion about visiting] If they give me a visa, I’ll come. Just if they ask you if you want to see me, say yes.

[they talk over each other]

V Is it your telephone?

V Is your dad OK?

Y He’s fine, now he’s resting, sleeping. Everybody’s healthy, everybody’s fine. Nobody has got anything they won’t recover from. I’ll be discharged soon. Everything’s ok. </s> LONDON — The poisoned daughter of an ex-Russian spy said Thursday she’s recovering quickly after her ordeal, while Russia strongly protested being locked out of the probe into the nerve agent that sickened her and her father.

Britain has blamed Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the city of Salisbury. In response, more than two dozen Western allies including Britain, the U.S. and NATO have ordered out over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity.

Moscow has fiercely denied its involvement in the nerve agent attack and expelled an equal number of envoys. The diplomatic turmoil has hit lows unseen even at the height of the Cold War.

Early Thursday, three buses believed to be carrying expelled American diplomats departed from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow after putting their luggage on trucks. Some toted pet carriers.

Yulia Skripal said in statement released Thursday by British police that her strength is growing daily and expressed gratitude to those who came to her aid.

“I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence,” the 33-year-old said.

The British hospital treating the Skripals has confirmed that Yulia’s condition has improved, while her father, 66, has remained in critical condition.

Russian state television on Thursday released a recording of what it said was a phone call between Yulia Skripal and her cousin in Russia. In it, Yulia Skripal says she and her father are both recovering and in normal health. She says her father is sleeping and his health has not been irreparably damaged.

Rossiya TV said Skripal’s niece, Viktoria, who lives in Moscow, gave the station the recording of her conversation with Yulia. The broadcaster said it can’t verify the recording’s authenticity.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, described the British accusations against Moscow over the nerve agent poisoning of the Skripals as a mockery of international law. Speaking at a news conference Thursday, Lavrov insisted that the poisoning case was fabricated by Britain to “demonize” Russia.

“The so-called Skripal case has been used as a fictitious, orchestrated pretext for the unfounded massive expulsions of Russian diplomats not only from the U.S. and Britain but also from a number of other countries who simply had their arms twisted,” Lavrov said in Moscow. “We have never seen such an open mockery of the international law, diplomatic ethics and elementary decorum.”

Russia last week ordered 60 American diplomats to leave the country by Thursday in retaliation for the United States expelling the same number of Russians.

Lavrov noted that Russia will respond in kind to any further hostile moves, but added “we also want to establish the truth.”

He sarcastically likened the British accusations to the queen from Alice in Wonderland urging “sentence first — verdict afterward.”

On Wednesday, Russia called a meeting of the international chemical weapons watchdog to demand a joint investigation with Britain into the poisoning — the demand that London has rejected.

The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) voted against the Russian proposal, but Moscow said the number of countries that abstained from the vote suggested many have doubts about Britain’s accusations.

“It’s unacceptable to make unfounded accusations instead of conducting a fair investigation and providing concrete facts,” Lavrov said. “Yesterday’s debate in The Hague showed that self-respecting adults don’t believe in fairy tales.”

Asked Thursday if Russia would accept the OPCW’s conclusions, Lavrov said Moscow must be part of the probe and see the evidence.

“We can’t give an advance approval to results of the investigation, in which we aren’t taking part and which is kept secret,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday that “the purpose of Russia’s ludicrous proposal at The Hague was clear — to undermine the independent, impartial work of the international chemical weapons watchdog.”

The chief of Britain’s defence research lab, the Porton Down laboratory, acknowledged Tuesday it has not been able to pinpoint the precise source of the nerve agent.

Gary Aitkenhead said scientists there identified the substance used on the Skripals as a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok. But he added “it’s not our job to say where that was actually manufactured.”
• U.K. say poisoning door handle to kill spy Sergei Skripal hints at approval at the highest level
• In wake of Skripal poisoning, the rules of the spy game are no longer clear
• British lab confirms Novichok used in attack on ex-Russian spy but can’t determine source

Lavrov said Aitkenhead’s statement indicated that Porton Down had samples of Novichok to use it as a marker to determine the type of the nerve agent used in the attack. He noted that Britain has failed to acknowledge yet that it possesses Novichok.

The British government says it relied on a combination of scientific analysis and other intelligence to conclude that the nerve agent came from Russia, but the Foreign Office on Wednesday deleted a tweet from last month that said Porton Down scientists had identified the substance as “made in Russia.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for cybersecurity, Alexander Krutskikh, mocked the contradictory statements, saying Thursday that “the latest developments around the Skripal case indicate the days of this British Cabinet are numbered.”

Moscow has called a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to press its case.

— Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report
Viktoria Skripal, a cousin of Yulia, states the poisoned pair suffered food poisoning rather than an attack with a nerve agent. Hours later she is denied a visa to visit her relatives in hospital.