The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has condemned the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Salisbury as a “brazen and reckless” attempted murder. Updating the House of Commons on the nerve agent attack, Rudd said Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, remain “unconscious and in a critical but stable condition”.

She confirmed that a police officer who came to their aid remains in a serious but stable condition but is “conscious, talking and engaging”. She did not reveal the identity of nerve agent involved but confirmed it had been “tested by experts at the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, who are world renowned experts in this field”. She added: “That forensic analysis has revealed the presence of a nerve agent and the incident is therefore being treated as attempted murder.” Amid mounting speculation that the attack was ordered by the Kremlin, Rudd said: “The use of nerve agent on UK soil is a brazen and reckless act. This was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way.”(theguardian)…[+]