On Wednesday counter terrorism police said the case was being treated as attempted murder via a nerve agent.
Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on Sunday on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury, a city in southern England.
“In summary, this is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent,” Mark Rowley, the head of counter terrorism policing, said on Wednesday as police gave their latest update on the situation.
UK investigators are working to establish the source of a nerve agent they believe was used to try to kill a Russian ex-spy and his daughter.
On Wednesday counter terrorism police said the case was being treated as attempted murder via a nerve agent.
Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on Sunday on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury, a city in southern England.
“In summary, this is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent,” Mark Rowley, the head of counter terrorism policing, said on Wednesday as police gave their latest update on the situation.
“I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically,” he added.
He added that a police officer who was one of the first on the scene in Salisbury was seriously ill in hospital. On Thursday he was reported to be conscious and able to speak, but Home Secretary (interior minister) Amber Rudd said his situation “remains serious”.
Substance ‘identified’
Rowley declined to give details of the substance used, as it was part of the investigation. However, police say government scientists have identified the nerve agent.
Hundreds of detectives are now working on the Skripal case to build up a timeline of the former agent’s movements over the last few days, Rowley said.
The area where the father and daughter were found remains sealed off – including the Zizzi pizza restaurant where they dined and the Bishop’s Mill pub where they had a drink. Cordons have been set up near a business park in the nearby town of Amesbury.