LONDON, July 17. /TASS/. The British authorities might have shared classified information with private individuals concerning the investigation into the Salisbury incident, Russia’s Embassy to the United Kingdom said on Tuesday.
The embassy commented on an article in the New York Times, which claimed, referring to British investigators, that Sergei and Yulia Skripal might have been purportedly poisoned by current or former officers of the Russian General Staff Main Department.
"We are concerned by the fact that, while the British authorities keep concealing all information concerning the investigation into the Salisbury incident, the newspaper has quoted ‘one former US official familiar with the inquiry’. It appears that the British authorities have shared confidential and extremely sensitive information with private individuals who have no authority or grounds for access thereto. Meanwhile, the Russian side has been trying to get access to the investigation and ensure cooperation between the British authorities and Russian experts for over four months, to no avail," the embassy said.
"The Embassy has forwarded another Note Verbale to the FCO demanding that the British authorities confirm or deny whether they share information on the Salisbury incident with the US, other allies, or private individuals," the Russian diplomats said.
Skripal poisoning case
On March 4, Sergei Skripal, 66, who had been convicted in Russia for spying for the UK but later swapped for Russian intelligence officers, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench near the Maltings shopping center in Salisbury, England. Police said they suffered the effects of an alleged nerve agent.
Later on, London claimed that the Novichok-class toxin had been allegedly developed in Russia. The UK rushed to accuse Russia of being involved, while failing to furnish any evidence. Moscow refuted the accusations stating that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia had ever done research on that toxic chemical.
However, the UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats and announced other restrictive measures against Moscow without presenting any evidence of its involvement in the incident. In retaliation to the UK’s steps, Russia expelled 23 British diplomats, closed the British consulate general in the city of St. Petersburg, while the British Council had to shut down its operations in Russia.