The Russia connectionU.K. counterterrorism unit takes over probe into Russian ex-spy's illness

Published 7 March 2018

Britain’s counterterrorism police took over the investigation into the sudden and severe illness of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter as media reported that Skripal’s son died last year of unknown causes on a visit to Russia. Scotland Yard announced that its counterterrorism unit would take charge due to the case’s “unusual circumstances” after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned that any involvement of a foreign government in the incident would not go “unpunished.”

Britain’s counterterrorism police took over the investigation into the sudden and severe illness of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter as media reported that Skripal’s son died last year of unknown causes on a visit to Russia.

Scotland Yard announced that its counterterrorism unit would take charge due to the case’s “unusual circumstances” after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned that any involvement of a foreign government in the incident would not go “unpunished.”

Britain’s stepped-up response to the still-unexplained events that put Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, into intensive care at a hospital in Salisbury came as the BBC quoted Skripal’s relatives as saying that some Skripal family members died in recent years in mysterious circumstances.

Skripal’s relatives told the BBC Russian Service that the ex-spy believed that “Russian special services might come after him at any time.” The BBC did not elaborate.

Skripal’s son Sergei, 44, died on a visit to Russia last year of an unknown illness, the Times reported, while the Guardian reported that Skripal’s wife died from cancer shortly after her arrival in Britain in 2012.

The Times reported that Yulia Skripal lived in Britain in 2010 after her father was released in a spy swap with Russia, but she later moved back to Moscow and was working for PepsiCo Russia. She arrived back in Britain to visit her father last week, according to the Times.

Emergency Committee meeting

A meeting of London’s emergency committee was scheduled for March 7 to discuss what happened to the Skripals.

Speaking to parliament on March 6, Johnson said Britain might step up sanctions against Russia if it found that Moscow was involved in the incident in the southern English city of Salisbury.

“We don’t know exactly what has taken place in Salisbury, but if it’s as bad as it looks, it is another crime in the litany of crimes that we can lay at Russia’s door,” Johnson said.

Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping mall in Salisbury after stopping at a nearby restaurant and pub. Police suspect that exposure to an as-yet unidentified substance caused their illness.

“Should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then Her Majesty’s government will respond appropriately and robustly,” Johnson told parliament.