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London will keep churning out lies over Skripal case — Russian diplomat

Zakharova commented on reports that experts of the Porton Down lab were unable to trace the origin of the substance used to poison Skripal

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The UK government will continue to tell lies and fabricate information over the Skripal case the way they did on many occasions in the past, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

Commenting on reports that experts of the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down were unable to trace the origin of the substance used to poison former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Zakharova said that "the UK Foreign Office has just said that its decision to blame Russia was based on suspicions."

Besides, "the Porton Down lab still fails to clarify whether they produced the Novichok-class nerve agent," she added.

"They will keep lying, prevaricating, shifting responsibility on each other. Why? Because this is not the first time they are doing this," the spokeswoman said.

On March 4, Sergei Skripal, who had been convicted in Russia of spying for Great Britain and later swapped for Russian intelligence officers, and his daughter Yulia suffered the effects of an alleged nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury.

Chief Executive of the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down Gary Aitkenhead said earlier on Tuesday that Porton Down experts were unable to identify the origin of the nerve agent used in the attack. The Porton Down facility is located seven kilometers away from Salisbury.