KW: The case continues to fall apart
New Developments In The Skripal Drama – Police Statement, OPCW Report Release
There are a few notable developments in the Skripal case about the poisoning of a former British secret agent from Russia and his daughter in Salisbury.
(If you are new to the issue please refer to our older pieces listed below. You may want to start with The Best Explanation For The Skripal Drama Is Still … Food Poisoning.)
On Sunday Yulia Skripal was secretly released from the Salisbury District Hospital but immediately taken into British government custody. She is under guard at an unknown location. Yesterday the Metropolitan Police released a Statement issued on behalf of Yulia Skripal:
“I have specially trained officers available to me, who are helping to take care of me and to explain the investigative processes that are being undertaken. I have access to friends and family, and I have been made aware of my specific contacts at the Russian Embassy who have kindly offered me their assistance in any way they can. At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services, but, if I change my mind I know how to contact them.
“Most importantly, I am safe and feeling better as time goes by, but I am not yet strong enough to give a full interview to the media, as I one day hope to do. Until that time, I want to stress that no one speaks for me, or for my father, but ourselves. I thank my cousin Viktoria for her concern for us, but ask that she does not visit me or try to contact me for the time being. Her opinions and assertions are not mine and they are not my father’s.”For the moment I do not wish to speak to the press or the media, and ask for their understanding and patience whilst I try to come to terms with my current situation.”
While written in quotes it is doubtful that Yulia Skripal expressed any of these words. “At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services” is British bureaucratese, not the wording any Russian (or anyone else) with English as a second language would ever use.
The Russian embassy in Britain seriously doubts that the letter is from Yulia Skripal. It notes that despite the claim that Yulia has “access to friends and family” none of her nearest family members, who are in Russia, was recently contacted by her. It also notes a contradiction:
Particularly amazing is the phrase “no one speaks for me” appearing in a statement which, instead of being read on camera by Yulia herself, is published at Scotland Yard website.
(The embassy also published a refutation of earlier British government accusations.)
In discussing the police statement the former British ambassador Craig Murray suggests that Yulia Skripal Is Plainly Under Duress:
It strikes me as inherently improbable that, when Yulia called her cousin as her first act the very moment she was able, she would now issue a formal statement through Scotland Yard forbidding her cousin to be in touch or visit. I simply do not believe this British Police statement.
—
Today the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) released the summary of a technical finding of the substance that allegedly injured Sergej and Yulia Skripal.
The British state media BBC headlines: Russian spy poisoning: Nerve agent inspectors back UK
The report itself does not holdup to the headline claim:
The international chemical weapons watchdog has confirmed the UK’s analysis of the type of nerve agent used in the Russian ex-spy poisoning.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons did not name the nerve agent as Novichok, but said it agreed with the UK’s findings on its identity.
The British government accused Russia as having caused the incident with a ‘nerve agent’. In no way does the OPCW confirm any of those claims. Its press release only states:
The results of the analysis by the OPCW designated laboratories of environmental and biomedical samples collected by the OPCW team confirm the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury and severely injured three people.
Some unnamed ‘toxic chemical’ was found by Porton Down and the OPCW confirmed that Porton Down was correct in its chemical analysis.
Neither in its press statement nor in its public Summary Report (pdf) does the OPCW speak of finding a ‘nerve agent’. But what is this ‘toxic chemical’? Saxitoxin, a natural poison that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) which would be consistent with the symptoms the Skripals showed shortly after eating a Risotto Pesce with mussels? Or some artificial agent designed as chemical weapon? Neither the OPCW nor Porton Down will say.
The BBC continues:
The OPCW does identify the toxic chemical by its complex formula but only in the classified report that has not been made public.
Early involvement of the OPCW, as demanded by Russia, was resisted by the British government. Only on March 14, ten days after the incident happened and two days after Prime Minister Theresa may had made accusations against Russia, did the British government invite the OPCW. Only on March 19, 15 days after the incident happen did the OPCW technical team arrive and took blood samples.
Nowhere does the OPCW support the British claims of a ‘Novichok’ nerve agent nor does it support the British accusations made against Russia.
Some of the comments
Is this confidentiality of findings–not disclosing them to Russia–consistent with OPCW rules?
Posted by: Paul | Apr 12, 2018 9:02:31 AM | 2
It was Mossad, spiked their seafood dish with “extra” natural toxin like Saxitoxin. May’s gov’t and UK/US intel services were not informed this was going to happen, hence the scramble to point fingers without any domestic intel and reliance on “trusted sources”.
Likewise Israel did not inform the NATO/US/UK/et. al. of their intention to fire the 8 rockets from warplanes over Lebanon. The Nuttyyahoo and his Zionist/Rothschild masters in control of sniper-killing unarmed Palestinians AND REPORTERS in the Great March obviously would not have advised the US of their plans to commit these premeditated murders.
This is about the “NATO” leaders looking to distract from domestic issues, and the Israeli/US/UK/French Zionist cabal trying to forestall their inevitable defeat in Syria.
Russia and Syria need to very publicly parade the Mossad and other “NATO” agents found in East Ghouta before the world, not allow them to escape with the refugees. And relocation within Syria must stop. Where ever the weapons found with the US/Zionist-backed terrorists originated, that is where those terrorists should be shipped. Along with the broken weapons they carried. Try to hide that from the NATO public. If this had been done in Aleppo, the Zionist/Rothschilds would not have tried yet another false-flag/fake news chemical attack/media storm.
Posted by: A P | Apr 12, 2018 9:16:30 AM | 3
I’d like to help out the HMG, UK with a minor edit:
“With the exception of the British Government, No one speaks for me.”
Fix that for you. Without regard to optics, A very arrogant statement knowing fully well in advance how the OPCW’s report could be spun to the media and their sheep.
Yulia is being held in isolation.
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12, 2018 9:16:52 AM | 4
Too bad Yulia couldn’t make it to the Russian embassy. Or maybe the Ecuadoran embassy, she could compare notes with Assange.
Posted by: A P | Apr 12, 2018 9:19:57 AM | 5
The other thing is, the blood samples and samples taken from site three weeks after the event were positively identified?UK government has also publicly stated that A-234 is the toxin so it will be interesting to see what OPCW has identified it as. Russia is to be given a full copy of the report so perhaps we will get to know what substance OPCW have identified.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Apr 12, 2018 9:24:53 AM | 6
https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/S_series/2018/en/s-1612-2018_e_.pdfBizarrely, it avoids identifying the toxin. “The name and structure of the identified toxic chemical are contained in the full classified report of the Secretariat, available to States Parties.”
Does anybody know how one might obtain a copy of the full report?
Posted by: farm ecologist | Apr 12, 2018 9:31:58 AM | 7
From the beginning I have been questioning the Bellingcat’s (I know, but someone has to do it )in house chemist Dan Kaszeta about all this novichok stuff
He pulled me up on the use of the word “toxin””Also, let me clear up your terminology a bit. You use the word “toxin” incorrectly. If it is a nerve agent, by definition it isn’t a toxin.”
I wouldn’t have thought the OPCW would be careless of it’s terminology
I’ve pointed out that the OPCW used the term “toxic chemical and asked him for comments.No reply so far
Posted by: francesca | Apr 12, 2018 9:32:09 AM | 8
When can Russia have a sample to test?
Not in a million years if the British can help it.
Thats obvious.
Posted by: Emily | Apr 12, 2018 9:49:18 AM | 9
The BBC are interpreting the confirmation of findings by the UK as vindicating the use of the term ‘Novichok’. Also, the purity of the toxic chemical is being seen as vindication of the allegation that a state actor was involved in its production.
Posted by: Shakesvshav | Apr 12, 2018 9:01:33 AM | 1