Skripal case: British police "identified suspects" in the poisoning of the Russian spy

British police have reportedly identified the suspects in the attempt to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter with Novichok in the British city of Salisbury last March.

The British Press Association said that a number of Russians were involved in the attempt to assassinate Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

It is believed that these Russians were identified through surveillance cameras in the area where the accident occurred, and then verified after comparing them with the records of those entering the country in the same period.

However, the British Minister of State for Security, Ben Wallace, played down the importance of these reports, and wrote on his Twitter account that the story of these reports belonged to a file lacking information and containing wild speculation.

Earlier this month, Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being poisoned by the same nerve agent in Amesbury, near Salisbury.

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Her partner, Charlie Rowley, 45, was also poisoned on 30 June and remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Police believe that these incidents are linked. The British government has blamed Russia, but the Russian authorities deny any connection.

In response to a question about the latest developments, the Russian ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, told the BBC: "Unfortunately, we do not have an official statement from the British side."

He added: "I want to hear that from the Metropolitan Police or the Foreign Office. There are a lot of stories in the newspapers, but they are not supported by the Foreign Office."

Skripal, 66, and his daughter, 33, have been released from hospital and taken to safety.

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A source familiar with the investigations told the Press Association: "Investigators believe that they identified the suspects in the Novichok attack via closed circuit television, and confirmed this through the data of people who entered the country at that time."

"They (investigators) are sure that they (the suspects) are Russians," he added.

The Metropolitan Police, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment. The BBC was unable to independently confirm the story.

Philip Ingram, a former British Army intelligence officer and chemical weapons expert, said these developments supported his view that this was a "professional attack" aimed at sending a "political message" - adding that it happened two weeks before the Russian elections.

"My view is that the main reason behind this is to send a message to the dissidents," he added.

An investigation into the death of Don Sturgess is scheduled for Thursday.

Counter-terrorism investigators said they found a small bottle containing the toxin novichok at Rowley's home in Amesbury.

Investigators are working to determine where the bottle, believed to contain perfume, came from, and how Rowley and Sturgess first exposed it.

On Wednesday, chemical weapons experts completed their investigations in Amesbury, as they sought to determine whether the substance that poisoned the two was the same as used in the Skripal and his daughter's accident.

National Health England said the risk to the public remained low.

"The advice still is: Don't touch something you don't know," said Mike Wade, deputy director of the Southwest Division of Health Protection.

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