LONDON, January 21. /TASS/. The UK media's reports claiming that Chief Nursing Officer of the British Army Alison McCourt and her 16-year-old daughter Abigail provided first aid to Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia "adds to numerous extraordinary coincidences" around the incident in Salisbury, the commentary published by the Russian Embassy in London informs.
"If this is true, let us express sincere admiration and gratitude to Abigail for having saved the lives of our two compatriots. At the same time, we have to say that these reports, as many others related to the Salisbury case, are unofficial and unverifiable," the embassy’s press officer stated. "Moreover, the fact that Abigail was present at the crime scene together with her mother, Alison McCourt, who happens to be a Colonel and the Chief Nursing Officer of the British Army, adds to the numerous extraordinary coincidences characteristic of the Skripals poisoning. Furthermore, one has to wonder why this information, unusual as it is, has only been made public ten months after the incident."
The Russian diplomats added that they continue to demand that the British officials clarify the full picture of the events in Salisbury. They demanded that London "provide Russia with access to the victims, who are Russian nationals, begin a truly open and cooperative investigation, instead of continuing to classify information".
"This would also be in the interests of ordinary Britons, such as Abigail McCourt. Her resolute actions have deserved the award but the secrecy surrounding this case will make people doubt whether she actually saved the Skripals following an A-234 [chemical agent] poisoning, or was unwillingly used as a pawn in an operation by British security services," the embassy continued. "The UK has never allowed Russia to verify its conclusions as to the chemical composition of the substance used, either bilaterally or through established OPCW procedures. One has to wonder why."
Happy coincidence
Last Saturday, the local Salisbury radio station Spire FM reported that Alison McCourt and her daughter were the first passersby to administer first aid to Sergei and Yulia Skripal on the day of their poisoning.
Sixteen-year-old Abigail, who took first aid classes at school, realized that something was wrong with the middle-aged man sitting on a bench near a shopping center. Judging by Sergei Skripal’s appearance, she thought that the man was having a heart attack. Her help may have played a crucial role in saving the Russian citizens, as she put Yulia Skripal in the recovery position, as she was having trouble breathing.
The details of the incident have become public after Abigail’s mother nominated her for the Lifesaver Award at Spire FM’s Local Hero Awards.
The Salisbury incident
On March 4, 2018, ex-GRU colonel Sergei Skripal, who had been convicted in Russia of spying for Great Britain, and his daughter Yulia suffered the effects of an alleged nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury. Claiming that the substance used in the attack had been a nerve agent allegedly developed in Russia, London rushed to accuse Moscow of being involved in the incident. The Russian side flatly rejected all of the United Kingdom’s accusations, saying that a program aimed at developing such a substance had existed neither in the Soviet Union nor in Russia. Britain’s military chemical laboratory at Porton Down has failed to identify the origin of the substance that poisoned the Skripals.