Russia v UK: Lavrov: 'Britain could have poisoned spy' after FAILING to secure Brexit deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested the Government is trying to distract attention “having failed to fulfil their promises… over Brexit”.

The Kremlin continues to deny responsibility over the poisoning of the former spy and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last month.

And in a news conference today, Mr Lavrov accused western countries of “playing children’s games” as he hinted it was possible that Britain was behind Mr Skripal’s poisoning.

Mr Lavrov said: “There are other explanations besides those put forward by our Western colleagues who declare that it can only be the Russians who are responsible,” he said.

“Experts say that it could be highly advantageous to the British security services as well, who are well known for their capacity to act with a licence to kill.

“It could also be advantageous to the British government, who clearly find themselves in a difficult situation, having failed to fulfil their promises to voters over Brexit.

“In times of cold war there were some rules, but now Britain and the United States had dropped all propriety.”

The foreign minister blasted Britain in a scathing attack today, calling the UK’s refusal to provide access to poisoned double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yuria Skripal “outrageous.”

Boris Johnson’s opposite number said Britain is “putting all decency aside” over the row.

He said: “I consider this is outrageous that so far our multiple requests demanding access to our citizens have been rejected or have remained unanswered.

“I want to reiterate that Russia has no relation to the Skripals’ poisoning, but we are very interested – probably more than anyone else – in establishing the truth about our citizens’ fate.”

Mr Lavrov went on to attack Britain and our international allies – who orchestrated the expulsion of 130 Russian spies from around the globe last month in response to the Kremlin’s provocation.

He said: ”Today, our Western partners, and I first of all refer to the Great Britain, the United States and some other countries, which are blindly guided by them, put all of their decency aside and resort to bold lies and fake news.

“Our responses to all of this are calm and weighted as we keep insisting that all accusations and allegations must be backed with the facts.”

The Russian Foreign Minister also Mr Lavrov also slammed the British armed forces – accusing them of unjust killings around the globe.

He said: ”Experts say this may be rather advantageous for Britain’s special services, which are known for their ability to act with a license to kill.

“This can be also beneficial to the British Government which found itself in an inconvenient situation after failing to fulfil its promises to voters on Brexit’s conditions.”

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said that the Kremlin will retaliate further if Britain fails to back down from its position in this diplomatic row.

Dmitry Peskov said: “Moscow is thoroughly analysing every unfriendly step taken against the Russian Federation, and each such unfriendly step eventually gets a response, which has a respective formulation.

“That is why let’s not run ahead, Moscow will not leave such steps unanswered.”

But Boris Johnson has taken a clear and firm line against Russia over their attack on British soil.Mr Johnson said that the prospect of Mr Putin “glorying” in hosting this Summer’s World Cup was “emetic.”

The former Mayor of London went on to agree with comparisons between the 1936 Olympic Games in Hitler’s Germany and the 2018 World Cup in Putin’s Russia.

He said: “Yes, I think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right.

“No matter how exactly it came to be done, the pathway, the chain of responsibility seems to me to go back to the Russian state and those at the top.”

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has also expressed anger at Russia’s response to the incident – as the Russian Embassy’s Twitter account continues to make light of the situation.

The Russian Embassy asked a series of rhetorical questions on Twitter, including: “Has the substance identified by British representatives as ‘Novichok’ or analogous substances been researched, developed or produced in the UK?”

Mr Williamson said: “The Kremlin’s response has been to unleash a tidal wave of smears, lies and mockery.”

Jeremy Corbyn struck a more equivocal tone about Russian involvement.

Although he condemned the attack, he still wants to wait before linking the poisoning directly to the Kremlin.

He said: “The poisoning of the Skripals was an appalling, illegal, criminal act. An attempt to kill them.

“The identity of the poison has been traced back to that of Russian manufacture.

“The point I made in the House of Commons was there must be a full investigation into who did it, the source of it and the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Warfare has got to have its chance to investigate – which it’s doing now – and that may well identify where the particular poison was manufactured.

“Listen, we cannot tolerate this on any street anywhere in our country, and that’s the point I have made very clear all along. And I suggest to Mr Lavrov, perhaps he should just hold on a minute. The investigation is being undertaken and it will identify, I hope, where it came from and who did it.”