Ex-KGB spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were in a critical condition after being exposed to an "unknown substance" in the English town of Salisbury, prompting British counter-terrorism officers to launch a probe into the circumstances of the mysterious incident.
Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia, were found unconscious on a shopping centre bench in Salisbury in south-west England and are feared to have been poisoned with an "unknown substance", police said today.
They remain critically ill in hospital since they were discovered in the Wiltshire town on Sunday afternoon.
Russia has denied any information about what has been classified as a "major incident" by Wiltshire Police.
Skripal's mysterious illness has invited comparisons with the poisoning in London in 2006 of another Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko. The former KGB agent had been poisoned with the radioactive substance polonium-210 at a central London hotel.
Police are looking for similarities between the cases and the modus operandi used, the Independent reported.
The UK will respond "robustly" to any evidence of Russian involvement in the collapse of former spy Skripal, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned today.
While it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, I can reassure the House that should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then Her Majesty's Government will respond appropriately and robustly," Johnson said in the House of Commons in response to an urgent parliamentary question over the incident.
Wiltshire Police said the pair did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital. "They are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both remain in a critical condition in intensive care," the police said in a statement.
A "small number" of emergency services workers were also assessed immediately after the incident and one remains in hospital.
"The advice from Public Health England remains that, based on the evidence to date, currently there doesn't appear to be any immediate risk to public health," Wiltshire Police said, adding that it has increased police patrols in the city to reassure the public.
Former agent Skripal, whose wife, son and older brother have all died in the past two years, was granted refuge in the UK following a "spy swap" in 2010.
The latest incident sparked instant speculation of Russian-linked poisoning, given Sergei's past as a former double agent who passed Russian secrets to Britain's MI6 security services.
"We have to be alive to the fact of state threats," said Scotland Yard counter-terror chief Mark Rowley.
The former Russian colonel in military intelligence had been jailed in Russia for "high treason" in 2006 but was later given refuge in the UK as part of a spy swap deal in 2010 in exchange for UK-based Russian spy Anna Chapman and around 10 other so-called undercover "sleeper" agents.
Sergei's daughter, who had been visiting her father from Russia, had been reportedly out of contact with her relatives in her native country for a few days.
British police efforts are now focussed on trying to find out what "unknown substance" harmed the pair, who were found slumped on a bench at The Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury by concerned passers-by.
A woman who saw Skripal and his daughter described the couple as appearing "out of it." Freya Church, a local resident, said she saw the pair on a bench.
"She sort of leant in on him, it looked like she'd passed out maybe," Church said.
As part of inquiries, police have cordoned off a number of premises in the area over contamination fears, including Zizzi restaurant where the pair are believed to have dined.
"We don't possess any information about what could have been the cause [of Skripal's illness], and what this could be connected to," said Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson.
He said Russia had not been contacted by Britain but it was ready to assist in any investigation.
"Moscow is always open to cooperation," Peskov said, calling the incident "tragic".
Litvinenko's death had strained Britain's ties with Kremlin and his widow has described the latest incident as "deja vu" and called for those receiving political asylum to be "completely safe".
"In Russia it is still an old-fashioned and old-style KGB system... It's still all the same. If there is an order to kill somebody it will happen," Marina Litvinenko claims.
A public inquiry had found that her 43-year-old husband's killing had "probably" been carried out with the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had denied any Russian involvement and refused to extradite the two Russians accused by the British authorities of killing Litvinenko.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
