Statement on the response of the Russian government to the incident in Salisbury
- Russia has failed to explain how the nerve agent was used or why they have an undeclared chemical weapons programme. There is therefore no alternative conclusion other than that Russia was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter – and for threatening the lives of other British citizens in Salisbury.
- We will work with our allies to defend our security, stand up for our values and send a message to those who want to undermine them. We will therefore dismantle the Russian espionage network in the UK by expelling 23 Russian diplomats. While making full use of existing powers, we will also look at new powers to harden our defences against all forms of hostile state activity. Russian state assets will be frozen if there is evidence that they may be used to threaten us, and all planned high-level contacts between the UK and Russia have been suspended.
- We will not tolerate any threat to British people and others on British soil. This attack is an affront to the rules-based system on which we and our international partners depend. We will continue to work with our allies to confront such actions wherever they threaten our security, at home and abroad, and to keep the British people safe.
Russia’s culpability
- On Monday, the Prime Minister set out that Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent developed by Russia.
- Following this, it was right to offer Russia the opportunity to provide an explanation. Unfortunately they failed to explain how this agent was used or why they have an undeclared chemical weapons programme.
- There is therefore no alternative conclusion other than that Russia was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter – and for threatening the lives of other British citizens in Salisbury, including Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey.
- We have no disagreement with the people of Russia who have been responsible for so many great achievements throughout their history.
- But we will not tolerate the threat to life of British people and others on British soil from the Russian Government.
Action we are taking
It is essential that we now work with our allies to defend our security, to stand up for our values and to send a clear message to those who would seek to undermine them. We will therefore:
- Take immediate actions to dismantle the Russian espionage network in the UK by expelling 23 Russian diplomats. This is the biggest expulsion in over 30 years.
- Urgently develop proposals for new powers to harden our defences against all forms of hostile state activity. This will include:
- A power to detain those suspected of hostile state activity at the UK border. This power is currently only permitted in relation to those suspected of terrorism.
- Considering whether there is a need for new counter-espionage powers to clamp down on the full spectrum of hostile activities of foreign agents in our country.
- Amending the Sanctions Bill to strengthen our powers to impose sanctions in response to the violation of human rights.
- Make full use of existing powers to enhance our efforts to monitor and track the intentions of those travelling to the UK who could be engaged in activity that harms us. This includes increased checks on private flights, customs and freight.
- Freeze Russian state assets wherever we have the evidence that they may be used to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents. There is no place for the money of serious criminals and corrupt elites in our country.
- Suspend all planned high-level contacts between the UK and Russia. It is not in our national interest to break off all dialogue between our two countries, but things cannot be the same, so we will suspend all planned high level bi-lateral contacts between us. There will be no attendance by ministers or royals at the 2018 World Cup.
- Deploy a range of tools from across the full breadth of our national security apparatus in order to counter the threats of hostile state activity. Some of these cannot be shared publicly for reasons of national security.
Working with our allies
- The Prime Minister has spoken to President Trump, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron. They agreed to co-operate closely in responding to this and to co-ordinate efforts to stand up for the rules-based international order.
- Later today, the UN Security Council will hold open consultations where we will be pushing for a robust international response.
- We have notified the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about Russia’s use of this nerve agent. We are working with the police to enable the OPCW to independently verify our analysis.
- There has been strong expressions of support from NATO, and from partners across the European Union, and beyond.
Jeremy Corbyn failed to condemn the culpability of the Russian state for this unlawful use of force and failed to back the action we are taking in response
- Despite support from MPs of all parties, Jeremy Corbyn failed to back the government’s conclusion that the Russian State was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skirpal and his daughter. Instead, he suggested ‘it is still a possibility that Russian negligently lost control of a military-grade nerve agent… they have provided no credible explanation that suggest they could have lost control of their nerve agent’. He also suggested the Government give Russia a sample of the nerve agent ‘to run its own tests’.
He failed to support the action the UK Government is taking in response. Corbyn failed to support the action we announced including expelling undeclared intelligence officers and proposals for new legislative powers – only talking about multilateral action.