UK found nerve agent allegedly used to poison British woman: report
British police say they’ve located the source of the nerve agent used to poison two British citizens earlier this month, killing one of them and hospitalizing the other, Reuters reported on Friday.
The British police said they had located a “small bottle” containing the nerve agent during a search of the home of one victim, Charlie Rowley of Amesbury, according to the Reuters report. Rowley remains hospitalized, while his partner, Dawn Sturgess, died earlier this month.
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“On Wednesday … a small bottle was recovered during searches of Charlie Rowley’s house in Amesbury,” British counterterrorism police was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Scientists have now confirmed to us that the substance contained within the bottle is Novichok.”
Amesbury is a few miles away from Salisbury, the town in which a former Russian spy and his daughter were found poisoned earlier this year, in an incident that tarnished relations between the United Kingdom and Russia.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has accused Russia’s government of being involved in both poisoning incidents, but Moscow has denied playing any role.
Novichok is a Soviet-era nerve agent that the British government says is linked to Russia’s spy agencies. An investigation will be launched to determine whether the bottle found this week was also used in the poisoning of the spy, Sergei Skripal, earlier this year.
“This is clearly a significant and positive development. However, we cannot guarantee that there isn’t any more of the substance left,” police said, according to Reuters.
In late March the U.S. expelled 60 Russian diplomats over the poisoning of Skripal after President Trump told reporters that “it certainly looks” like Russia’s government was behind the attack.
“With these steps, the United States and our allies and partners make clear to Russia that its actions have consequences,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement at the time.
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