Poisoning of ex-spy is 'latest in pattern of reckless and unlawful behaviour by Russia'

The poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal is the ‘latest in a clear pattern of reckless and unlawful behaviour by the Russian state’, according to Nato.

Sir Mark Sedwill, National Security Adviser, said Nato ‘stands united’ in response to the Salisbury incident which saw the 66-year-old ex-double agent poisoned with a military grade nerve agent.

Sir Mark, who briefed the North Atlantic Council earlier, said: ‘What happened in Salisbury was the latest in a clear pattern of reckless and unlawful behaviour by the Russian state, and concerns the whole alliance.

‘From Syria to Salisbury, Crimea to cyberspace, Russia consistently flouts the norms of international behaviour.’

He said the Prime Minister’s response included measures to dismantle Russian’s intelligence network, adding ‘we will support allies who face similar threats’.

‘With our allies we will continue to act robustly to defend the international rules-based system,’ he said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said the US were taking the incident ‘very seriously’.

He told reporters at the White House: ‘It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it, something that should never happen.’

Despite Trump’s comments, his administration has been subpoenaed for documents related to Russia.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller demanded documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses.

The White House said it would continue to cooperate with the investigation.

Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations has accused British authorities of using ‘propaganda war tools’ and having ‘other motives’ than establishing the truth behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

In comments tweeted by the Russian Mission at the UN, Vasily Nebenzya said that the UK was ‘dragging’ the case to the UN’s Security Council, ignoring its international commitments because the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ‘will not be convinced by its arguments’.

It said: ‘Incredible things are happening behind our eyes. The process of replacing the presumption of innocence with the presumption of guilt is taking place. Moreover, this criminal law principle is transferred into international relations.

‘The authorities of #UK are not interested in finding the truth about the Skripal case, they have other motives.

‘They are using #propaganda war tools to influence an uninformed and impressionable public. There are no facts, only allegations about the “Russian trace”.’