Vehicle used to pick up Yulia Skripal from airport seized for forensic tests

The vehicle used to pick up Yulia Skripal from Heathrow airport has been seized by the military for forensic testing.

The development suggests that detectives believe the Novichok nerve agent used to poison both her and her father, Sergei Skripal, a Russian spy, a fortnight ago may have been unwittingly carried over by her from Moscow the previous day.

The 33-year-old was picked up from Heathrow on Saturday March 3 by Ross Cassidy, one of Col Skripal's closest friends, who drove her back to her father's house in Salisbury.

Intelligence officers have suggested that the toxin may have been hidden in her luggage.

Mr Cassidy told The Telegraph that his pick-up truck had been seized at the concrete plant in Amesbury where he works.

Meanwhile, police investigating the murder of Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov said they had found no evidence of forced entry into his home.

The 68-year-old was found apparently strangled at his terraced house in Clarence Avenue, New Malden on March 12,  prompting fears that a new Moscow-sponsored attack had been carried out on UK soil.

The former Aeroflot deputy director, a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, was granted asylum in the UK after fleeing Russia in 2006.

His death was initially treated as unexplained but four days later, following a post-mortem examination, Scotland Yard launched a murder inquiry.

Mr Glushkov, who was close friends with Putin critic Boris Berezovsky, was wanted over fraud allegations in his native Russia.

He was also outspoken after Mr Berezovsky died in 2013, refusing to accept that his friend had taken his own life.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into Mr Glushkov's death but have stressed that there is no evidence to link it with the attempted murder of Col Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.

On Monday officers were carrying out house-to-house inquiries near his Clarence Avenue home and appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Metropolitan Police Commander Clarke Jarrett said: "I would urge anybody who may have information to get in touch if they have not already done so. We will have officers in Mr Glushkov's local neighbourhood today so please come and speak to us if you think you may have seen or heard anything suspicious last Sunday or Monday.

"The investigation is progressing; we have taken a number of statements and have over 400 exhibits which are being processed. We have found no sign of forced entry thus far, but the forensic examination at Mr Glushkov's home continues and we expect to be there for some time.

"I must stress that there is nothing we have found in our investigation so far to suggest any link to the attempted murders in Salisbury and I would like to reassure the public in New Malden that there are no wider public health concerns in relation to this investigation."

The bodies of Russian dissidents who have died in the UK are likely to be exhumed in the wake of Boris Johnson's disclosure that the Kremlin has spent a decade developing nerve agents for assassination purposes.

The remains of at least two Russians who died suddenly and mysteriously are expected to be re-examined. Neither was tested for nerve agent poisoning after their deaths. Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary accused Vladimir Putin's regime of breaking international law in developing Novichok for use by hit squads.

Today, inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will visit the defence laboratory at Porton Down to collect nerve agent samples used in the attack for independent testing. The tests are expected to last at least two weeks.

Mr Johnson said the Government had proof that Novichok was being stockpiled by Russia.