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Amesbury poisoning

Amesbury victims exposed to the same substance as Skripals — UK home secretary

According to law enforcers, late on June 30, a 44-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were found unconscious in their home in Amesbury

© AP Photo/Matt Dunham

LONDON, July 5. /TASS/. The poisoning of two British citizens in the city of Amesbury on June 30 was caused by exposure to the same substance that was used to contaminate former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said in the House of Commons on Thursday.

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British couple poisoned by Novichok nerve agent in Amesbury, police claim

"Further testing by expert scientists in chemical warfare at Porton Down laboratory confirmed this to be the nerve agent of the type known as Novichok. This has now been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated both Yulia and Sergei Skripal," he said.

According to law enforcers, late on June 30, a 44-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were found unconscious in their home in Amesbury. They were sent to the hospital in nearby Salisbury. Both are in critical condition.

On March 4, former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, 66, who had been convicted in Russia for spying for the UK, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench near the Maltings shopping center in Salisbury, the UK. Police said they had been exposed to a 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 into that toxic chemical.

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