Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

It is good to hear she is improving, but I keep wondering if she will ever wish to return to Russia. If not, I wonder if she would be allowed to stay here?

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

Well as she was poisoned here she may not want to stay. If indeed she recovers enough to travel.

She was only on holiday, wasn't she?

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

Yes, now they come up with that, at this late stage, although I suppose time elapses before any news is put into the public domain, but I'm now wondering if he had this nerve agent.
Maybe he'd had enough of life, and wanted to take his daughter with him !
After all, they did go to the cemetery first thing that particular day.

I'm pleased she's improved, just hope that there are no lasting effects for her.

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

Actually its only yesterday I read that the likelihood of either of them surviving was remote then today they say she is sat up talking? I'm pleased she is likely to survive I hope he does too I just wish the media would get it right.

Apparently the nerve agent jell was applied to the front door handle' Imagine if large amounts of the stuff got into the hands of ISIS or the like... scary

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

According to the sun, she's sitting up in bed and talking about 'porridge'

Hahahaha ! This report is truly what journalists are made of.
Also interesting to think that a friend of Yulia's would just have a cache of Novichok at her disposal. If that's the case, they are all in it together....... friends, and more friends of friends ! (but not really friends)

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/594625...soning-claims/

CEREAL THRILLER Police investigating claims Russian spy Sergei Skripal’s £1 bag of porridge was poisoned by daughter Yulia’s ‘female pal’
Fears have emerged that spy Sergei Skripal's breakfast may have been poisoned by a Russian pal of his daughter

COPS have quizzed a woman pal of Yulia Skripal after she jetted to Britain with a £1 bag of cereal for stricken spy Sergei.

It is feared his porridge could have been poisoned
He had asked daughter Yulia, 33, to bring the Russian-style breakfast from Moscow.

Sergei, 66, also demanded bay leaves and spices from his motherland.

But in the rush to fly to London — the day before the March 4 nerve-agent attack — she forgot to pick up the grocery gifts.

So instead, Yulia asked an unnamed woman, who flew to London separately, to buy and bring the buckwheat, his favourite breakfast meal.
It is understood Scotland Yard has “interrogated” the woman, who works for a major medical company in Russia, about the gifts.

She flew to Britain with her husband shortly after Yulia, it is understood
It is not clear when or how the gifts were delivered.

A source said: “Police had suspected gifts from Yulia to her father might have contained the Novichok nerve agent.”
Traces of the poison are said to have been found on the front door of Sergei’s home in Salisbury, Wilts.


It was of course 1st April........

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

With all the latest things happening in this case, l’m starting to wonder about it all.

Something doesn’t seem right? Their miraculous recovery and we have never seen one photograph of them in the hospital.

Again, l say, what about the the person who allegedly planted the nerve agent on the door handle? Were they wearing full protective clothing and going unnoticed?

Dunno? Scratches head!

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

Does this whole story not seem wholly squiffy to people?

Let's just review this

Someone wants someone else assassinated.

We live in an age where if you walk around East London you can be stabbed in broad daylight, have acid thrown at you or be casually shot.

It's that easy to kill someone.

But these assassins decide to get hold of some Nerve Agent, which by any stretch of the imagination must be horrendously difficult to do, let alone the cost !

You then have to smuggle that nerve agent across borders at great risk and then you have to administer it with extreme care in case you too are affected by it.

How realistic is this?

They could assassinate the victims in a myriad of ways, far simpler ways. Why choose nerve agent?

It just makes zero sense.

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

Hi

An alternative view.

If you wanted to send a very clear message, Nerve Agent is a very good way of doing it.

The man was working for us, human intelligence is vital.

He was captured and imprisoned by the Russians.

He was released as part of a spy swap, 10 Russian Spies for 4 Western Spies.

He was obviously important to us.

It also sends a clear message to any potential spy that we will look after them, a very good recruitment tool.

It also reassures those working for us.

Yes, he could have been bumped off much more easily, but it would not have had the same effect, which is terror.

The Russians could have quitely bumped off the last one they killed, they didn't.

Instead the chose another scary method , Polonium 210,a very rare radioactive isotope.

Only around 100 grams a year is produced,most of it in Russia.

In other words, the Russians wanted it to be known that it was them, a scare tactic.

Novichok was developed and produced in the former USSR.

It is not a common or garden nerve agent like Sarin, which can be produced relatively easily, as seen in the Japanese attack which used it.

In both instances, Polonium 210 and Novichok it is a State Player who has produced it.

Do we have some here in the UK?

I have no idea.

I would find it strange if we didn't,we have samples of most of these things, we need to study them to develop effective counter measures.

As for smuggling it into the UK, well that is easy.

Novichok was designed to be undetectable by standard NATO methods.

It only needs a tiny amount to be lethal.

Smuggled in a biro or a tube of tooth paste for example.

Your Enforcement Agencies have played thts with a straight bat.

The head of the Military side of Porton Down has stated that although it is Novichok, he cannot say for certain that it was produced in Russia.

He has said that it would need a State to produce it.

Russians are very nationalistic, they do not like Traitors and Putin is ruthless, the action has been well received by the Russian Public.

The science is exactly that, the science.

The decision to apportion blame is taken by the CPS in normal cases, in cases such as this, by the Government.

As regards the questions some have asked about whoever did it putting themselves at risk of poisoning themselves.

Novichok, this particular type at least, is a very fine powder.

Easily and safely applied in a gel,which then evaporates, leaving the powder.

The only protective clothing you need is surgical gloves.

Think of it as asbestos.

We all know asbestos is dangerous.

It is only dangerous when the asbestos fibres are very small and dry and get inhaled deep into the lungs.

You can cover asbestos with milk and eat it like a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast and it will do you no harm at all.

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

You're in big trouble

Re: The Strange Case of the Russian Spy.

News report says her father is off critical list and improving.