UK Defence Secretary tells Russia 'go away and shut up'
15 March 2018
BBC News
UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson urged Russia to "go away" and "shut up" as he unveiled plans for a new chemical weapons "defence centre".
He made the comments as he announced a £48m investment in a facility that will be located at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down.
Scientists at the Wiltshire lab helped identify the nerve agent used to attack ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal.
Russia said his comments demonstrated his "intellectual impotence".
In a speech on Thursday, Mr Williamson said the "shocking and reckless" attack on Mr Skripal and his daughter illustrated the increasing dangers the UK faced from chemical weapons.
Mr Williamson said there was "no doubt the attack came from Russia".
The UK is expelling 23 Russian diplomats and taking a range of other measures in response to what it said was the Russian state's culpability for the use of a military grade nerve agent on the duo in Salisbury.
Nuclear submarine HMS Trenchant breaks through the ice after Britain sent it to the Arctic in response to the Skripal poisoning
Moscow has hit out at what it described as the UK's unacceptable provocations and threatened reprisals. It has denied involvement.
In questions after the speech Mr Williamson was asked what further measures the UK would take if Russia expelled British diplomats.
He said: "We will look at how Russia responds to what we've done.
"It's absolutely atrocious and outrageous what Russia did in Salisbury - we've responded to that. Frankly, Russia should go away - it should shut up.
"But if they do respond to the action we have taken, we'll consider it carefully and we'll look at our options. But it would be wrong to prejudge their response."
Asked if the situation could lead to a new Cold War, Mr Williamson said that it had been described as a "cool war", adding: "Let's face it, relations aren't good, are they?"
The Defence Secretary has announced a £48m investment in a facility that will be located at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down near Salisbury
Mr Williamson said the UK leads the world in research into chemical, biological and radiological warfare but said this expertise needed to be developed further to confront potential hostile activity by states and individuals.
"We know the chemical threat doesn't just come from Russia but from others," he said.
"I can announce we will be strengthening this capability by investing £48m in a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre to ensure we maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence."
'Boorish statement'
But Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov criticised Mr Williamson's "boorish statement" as showing an "extreme level of intellectual impotence".
"All of this not only confirms the fact that London's accusations against Russia, which we have heard over the previous few years amount to nothing, but also the complete insignificance of the accusers themselves."
He added: "Russia long ago developed a strong immunity to London's fake accusations towards Russia."
On his visit to Porton Down, Mr Williamson also announced that, as a precaution, thousands of British troops would be offered vaccinations against anthrax, a spore-producing bacterial disease used in a series of bio-terror attacks in the US in 2001.
British troops who are held at high-readiness will be offered the vaccine on a voluntary basis so they are ready to deploy to areas where the risk of this type of attack exists.
Mr Williamson, who took over the role in November, is currently reviewing Britain's defences amid calls from Conservative MPs for a moratorium on cuts to the armed forces and defence capability.
The BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said Mr Williamson was making clear that Britain must invest more in defence to counter both conventional and emerging threats like cyber warfare.
"As Brexit beckons, the eyes of the world are on us. Rest assured our adversaries will be watching even more closely than our allies," Mr Williamson said.
"This is our moment to retain our competitive advantage."
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory supplies specialist science and technology services to the armed forces as well as expert advice and analysis to government.
UK defence secretary tells Russia 'go away and shut up' - BBC News
Spy poisoning: Putin most likely behind attack - Johnson
16 March 2018
BBC News
"Our quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin," Boris Johnson says
Russian President Vladimir Putin is "overwhelmingly likely" to have ordered the nerve agent attack on an ex-spy and his daughter, Boris Johnson has said.
The foreign secretary said "our quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin, and with his decision" over the Salisbury incident.
Russia denies involvement and said the accusations against Mr Putin were "shocking and unforgivable".
Meanwhile, the head of Nato told the BBC that Russia has underestimated the "resolve and unity" of the UK's allies.
Speaking during a visit to a west London military museum with the Polish foreign minister, Mr Johnson said the UK's "quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin".
"We think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the UK, on the streets of Europe, for the first time since the Second World War," he said.
'UK is not alone'
Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, remain critically ill in hospital, after they were found unconscious on a bench in the Wiltshire city on 4 March.
The UK government says they were poisoned with a nerve agent of a type developed by Russia called Novichok (Newcomer), and PM Theresa May said she believed Moscow was "culpable".
Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, are in a critical condition in hospital
Mrs May has said the UK
will expel 23 Russian diplomats as part of a "full and robust" response - prompting Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to say it will "certainly" expel British diplomats in response.
Russia's investigative committee said it had opened a criminal case investigation into the "attempted murder" of Ms Skripal and "the murder" of Nikolai Glushkov, a
Russian exile who was found dead in his home in London on Monday.
According to Russian news agency Tass, the Russian ambassador to Britain, Alexander Yakovenko, said the UK claimed the nerve agent used was A-234, but this has not been confirmed.
A Downing Street spokesman said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been invited to come to the UK to take a sample of the nerve agent - that process is expected to begin "imminently".
On Friday, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had "no reason to doubt the findings and assessments by the British government" which suggested Russian responsibility.
He said the "UK is not alone" and Nato allies gave "strong political support" to Britain, following
a joint statement from the US, France and Germany backing Mrs May's government and a pledge of support from Australia.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Stoltenberg said the incident was part of a "pattern of reckless behaviour" from Russia, following allegations of cyber attacks and election meddling in recent years.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the "UK is not alone" and Nato allies gave "strong political support" to Britain, following a joint statement from the US, France and Germany backing Mrs May's government and a pledge of support from Australia
"It is important that Russia gets a clear signal that it costs to behave the way they behave," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"I'm absolutely certain that Russia has underestimated the resolve and unity of Nato allies when we have implemented different kinds of sanctions over the last years," Mr Stoltenberg added.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was not worried by international expressions of support for the UK and challenged Britain to "provide some confirmation".
He said: "Sooner or later, the British will have to show some proof to those 'colleagues' who say they are with UK on this; sooner or later will have to stand up its accusations."
Ahead of an EU leaders' summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said discussions of a potential boycott of the World Cup in Russia are "not an immediate priority".
It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has written in the Guardian
warning against "hasty judgements", and not to "rush ahead of the evidence".
No symptoms
Wiltshire Police said 131 people had been identified as potentially being exposed to the nerve agent - but none has shown any symptoms.
Salisbury District Hospital has also assessed 46 people who came forward expressing health concerns but they were not admitted.
In a letter to the Times, Salisbury NHS Trust emergency medical consultant Stephen Davies said only three people - the Skripals and Det Sgt Nick Bailey - had needed treatment.
Det Sgt Bailey remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being contaminated with the chemical.
Public Health England said the risk posed to the public remains low but they
repeated their advice for anyone who had been to the Mill pub or Zizzi to wash their clothes and possessions.
A spokesperson said while it was clear a "significant dose" could have a "serious immediate effect", anyone in either venue "could only have been exposed to extremely small traces" and no further cases of illness have been reported.
Analysis: Was chemical A-234 used?
By Gordon Corera, BBC security correspondent
The implication of the ambassador's comments is that the Russians have been told by the British the exact nerve agent deployed.
So far, British officials have not confirmed that they have communicated this to Moscow or that A-234 was the exact agent deployed.
Based on public sources, A-234 is one of the Novichok family of agents.
It has been reported that it is at least five to eight and possibly 10 times as strong as VX.
Little is known about it but the symptoms are very similar to those which eyewitnesses attributed to Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
In military handbooks it is described as a "delayed casualty agent" - its persistence depends upon how it is used, as well as the weather.
Spy poisoning: Putin most likely behind attack - Johnson - BBC News
