I Am British
On Sunday, 4th March 2018, a former Russian spy and his daughter were taken seriously ill. They were found unconscious on a public bench near a shopping centre in Salisbury, England. It was later discovered that they had been exposed to a lethal nerve gas, possibly whilst dinning in a restaurant near to where they had been found. Their condition remains critical
Sergei Skripal was a Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK's intelligence services. In December 2004, he was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and later tried, convicted of high treason, and imprisoned. He settled in the UK in 2010 following a spy swap. His daughter, Yulia, was visiting him from Moscow. His wife, Liudmila, and son, Alexander, are dead. Liudmila died of cancer in 2012 and Alexander in a car accident whilst vacationing in St Petersburg, Russia in 2017. The official cause of death given, is liver failure.
It is understood that the nerve gas used is very volatile, and very difficult to manufacture, transport and deploy. Consequently, it seems that only governments have the resources to do any of these things. And only four governments are known to have this capability, namely, the USA, the UK, France and Russia.
Given the wealth of some individuals and corporations, it is not inconceivable that this wealth could be used to attain the resources and expertise to carry out such an attack. Also, it would be naïve to believe that only the four known countries have this nerve gas and the capability to deploy it. Therefore, it would be wrong to assume that any one of these countries carried out the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Which is why the UK government, and its investigative services, are not discounting any possibilities. Amber Rudd, the UK Home Secretary, has refused to speculate on whether the Russian state might have been involved in the attack, saying the police investigation should be based on "facts, not rumour".
So what should the UK do next? What do we do if it transpires that Russian agents were involved?
The fact of the matter is that, alone, we can do very little. Unilateral sanctions would be ineffectual to a nation the size of Russia. Military action, inconceivable. A tit-for-tat knocking off of Russian spies?
Amber Rudd has said that there will be “nothing soft” about the UK’s response to this attack. Take from that what you will.
But what are our allies saying about this attack? Unsurprisingly, very little. The EU, zilch. NATO, zilch. The USA, zilch.
And it’s this last one that I find particularly irksome. Trump wastes no time in mocking us whenever there is the merest hint of a terrorist attack perpetrated by Muslims. He re-tweets video footage produced by a far right group, Britain First. But on this, tumbleweed.
Of course, this is nothing new for the great orange one.
Sergei Skripal was a Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK's intelligence services. In December 2004, he was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and later tried, convicted of high treason, and imprisoned. He settled in the UK in 2010 following a spy swap. His daughter, Yulia, was visiting him from Moscow. His wife, Liudmila, and son, Alexander, are dead. Liudmila died of cancer in 2012 and Alexander in a car accident whilst vacationing in St Petersburg, Russia in 2017. The official cause of death given, is liver failure.
It is understood that the nerve gas used is very volatile, and very difficult to manufacture, transport and deploy. Consequently, it seems that only governments have the resources to do any of these things. And only four governments are known to have this capability, namely, the USA, the UK, France and Russia.
Given the wealth of some individuals and corporations, it is not inconceivable that this wealth could be used to attain the resources and expertise to carry out such an attack. Also, it would be naïve to believe that only the four known countries have this nerve gas and the capability to deploy it. Therefore, it would be wrong to assume that any one of these countries carried out the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Which is why the UK government, and its investigative services, are not discounting any possibilities. Amber Rudd, the UK Home Secretary, has refused to speculate on whether the Russian state might have been involved in the attack, saying the police investigation should be based on "facts, not rumour".
So what should the UK do next? What do we do if it transpires that Russian agents were involved?
The fact of the matter is that, alone, we can do very little. Unilateral sanctions would be ineffectual to a nation the size of Russia. Military action, inconceivable. A tit-for-tat knocking off of Russian spies?
Amber Rudd has said that there will be “nothing soft” about the UK’s response to this attack. Take from that what you will.
But what are our allies saying about this attack? Unsurprisingly, very little. The EU, zilch. NATO, zilch. The USA, zilch.
And it’s this last one that I find particularly irksome. Trump wastes no time in mocking us whenever there is the merest hint of a terrorist attack perpetrated by Muslims. He re-tweets video footage produced by a far right group, Britain First. But on this, tumbleweed.
Of course, this is nothing new for the great orange one.
