As recently as 2016 Dr Robin Black, Head of the Detection Laboratory at the UK’s only chemical weapons facility at Porton Down, a former colleague of Dr David Kelly, published in an extremely prestigious scientific journal that the evidence for the existence of Novichoks was scant and their composition unknown.
In recent years, there has been much speculation that a fourth generation of nerve agents, ‘Novichoks’ (newcomer), was developed in Russia, beginning in the 1970s as part of the ‘Foliant’ programme, with the aim of finding agents that would compromise defensive countermeasures. Information on these compounds has been sparse in the public domain, mostly originating from a dissident Russian military chemist, Vil Mirzayanov. No independent confirmation of the structures or the properties of such compounds has been published. (Black, 2016)
Robin Black. (2016) Development, Historical Use and Properties of Chemical Warfare Agents. Royal Society of Chemistry
Yet now, the British Government is claiming to be able instantly to identify a substance which its only biological weapons research centre has never seen before and was unsure of its existence. Worse, it claims to be able not only to identify it, but to pinpoint its origin. Given Dr Black’s publication, it is plain that claim cannot be true.
The world’s international chemical weapons experts share Dr Black’s opinion. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a UN body based in the Hague. In 2013 this was the report of its Scientific Advisory Board, which included US, French, German and Russian government representatives and on which Dr Black was the UK representative:
[The SAB] emphasised that the definition of toxic chemicals in the Convention would cover all potential candidate chemicals that might be utilised as chemical weapons. Regarding new toxic chemicals not listed in the Annex on Chemicals but which may nevertheless pose a risk to the Convention, the SAB makes reference to “Novichoks”. The name “Novichok” is used in a publication of a former Soviet scientist who reported investigating a new class of nerve agents suitable for use as binary chemical weapons. The SAB states that it has insufficient information to comment on the existence or properties of “Novichoks”. (OPCW, 2013)
OPCW: Report of the Scientific Advisory Board on developments in science and technology for the Third Review Conference 27 March 2013
Indeed the OPCW was so sceptical of the viability of “novichoks” that it decided – with US and UK agreement – not to add them nor their alleged precursors to its banned list. In short, the scientific community broadly accepts Mirzayanov was working on “novichoks” but doubts he succeeded.
Given that the OPCW has taken the view the evidence for the existence of “Novichoks” is dubious, if the UK actually has a sample of one it is extremely important the UK presents that sample to the OPCW. Indeed the UK has a binding treaty obligation to present that sample to OPCW. Russa has – unreported by the corporate media – entered a demand at the OPCW that Britain submit a sample of the Salisbury material for international analysis.
Yet Britain refuses to submit it to the OPCW.
Why?
A second part of May’s accusation is that “Novichoks” could only be made in certain military installations. But that is also demonstrably untrue. If they exist at all, Novichoks were allegedly designed to be able to be made at bench level in any commercial chemical facility – that was a major point of them. The only real evidence for the existence of Novichoks was the testimony of the ex-Soviet scientist Mizayanov. And this is what Mirzayanov actually wrote.
One should be mindful that the chemical components or precursors of A-232 or its binary version novichok-5 are ordinary organophosphates that can be made at commercial chemical companies that manufacture such products as fertilizers and pesticides.
Vil S. Mirzayanov, “Dismantling the Soviet/Russian Chemical Weapons Complex: An Insider’s View,” in Amy E. Smithson, Dr. Vil S. Mirzayanov, Gen Roland Lajoie, and Michael Krepon, Chemical Weapons Disarmament in Russia: Problems and Prospects, Stimson Report No. 17, October 1995, p. 21.
It is a scientific impossibility for Porton Down to have been able to test for Russian novichoks if they have never possessed a Russian sample to compare them to. They can analyse a sample as conforming to a Mirzayanov formula, but as he published those to the world twenty years ago, that is no proof of Russian origin. If Porton Down can synthesise it, so can many others, not just the Russians.
And finally – Mirzayanov is an Uzbek name and the novichok programme, assuming it existed, was in the Soviet Union but far away from modern Russia, at Nukus in modern Uzbekistan. I have visited the Nukus chemical weapons site myself. It was dismantled and made safe and all the stocks destroyed and the equipment removed by the American government, as I recall finishing while I was Ambassador there. There has in fact never been any evidence that any “novichok” ever existed in Russia itself.
To summarise:
1) Porton Down has acknowledged in publications it has never seen any Russian “novichoks”. The UK government has absolutely no “fingerprint” information such as impurities that can safely attribute this substance to Russia.
2) Until now, neither Porton Down nor the world’s experts at the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were convinced “Novichoks” even exist.
3) The UK is refusing to provide a sample to the OPCW.
4) “Novichoks” were specifically designed to be able to be manufactured from common ingredients on any scientific bench. The Americans dismantled and studied the facility that allegedly developed them. It is completely untrue only the Russians could make them, if anybody can.
5) The “Novichok” programme was in Uzbekistan not in Russia. Its legacy was inherited by the Americans during their alliance with Karimov, not by the Russians.
With a great many thanks to sources who cannot be named at this moment.
I never looked at this blog yesterday but the above post is superb. Thank you Craig.
Yes SOS from the West.
Great Article. Thanks. Fuck the MSM. All of them.
Thanks, as ever, for incisive commentary.
I shared the sh*t out of this, lets hope it gets into the main stream media!, Thanks and well done.
I have a highly speculative explanation of this affair to offer: As can be seen from CM’s article, the inventor of this substance says that its precursors are not difficult to make from the sort of organophosphates which are in commercially available as pesticides and fertilizers and as I understand the accounts of his book, which is available from Amazon for $30, he published enough information to enable any moderately competent chemist to make it in a fairly standard laboratory.
Now this man, the one who was poisoned was a double agent, and while an agent might be spying in a good cause, I don’t see how a commercial double agent could ever be anything but a prize rat. So let’s say he wanted a really sneaky poison to use on someone or to sell to someone and decided to make it as a DIY project. Then at some critical juncture, he made a mistake, perhaps his daughter came in unexpectedly and startled him or his hand slipped or whatever, and the rest of the story is that they rushed out of the house and collapsed on the park bench where they were found etc.
The rest of the story is that of the opportunistic use of the accident by the British government and the Anti-Russian Circus.
It is known that after leaving home, the Skripals ate a seafood lunch at Zizzi’s Restaurant, then walked to a pub for drinks. By the time they were found unconscious on the park bench, at least two hours may have passed.
Response to foolishholdman’s explanation of 15/03/2018
An excellent theory: So, after rushing out of the house covered in nerve agent, the Skripals’ then stopped off at The Mill pub for a nice, relaxing drink and then moved on to Zizzi restaurant for a nice, relaxing lunch. It all makes so much sense ….
And all put together with absolutely no evidence ….
Since the did not Rush Out you must speculate that they accidentally contaminated themselves in their home and did not feel the effects until two yours later. Would that be possible? Early Daily Telegraph reports did say that contamination occurred in the spies’ home – though not at their own hands – and this was where the Detective Sergent was poisoned. The BBC said he was contaminated while “tending” to the two “poisonous” [sic] spies. Is there yet an agreed public narrative about the place of contamination?
Good final question. There is a recent (16/03/2018) piece in The Guardian with a number of speculative possibilities concerning the means of delivery. Nobody seems to know for sure. Nor are any of the possibilities considered as probabilities….
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/16/skripals-poisoning-what-we-know-so-far
A slightly less recent (15/03/2018) piece in The Guardian focuses on the possibility that the nerve agent was ‘planted’ in Yulia’s luggage before she left Russia. This piece suggest that this is UK intelligence agencies favoured scenario.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/15/suitcase-spy-poisoning-plot-nerve-agent-planted-luggage-sergei/
Many thanks for the fact that you have the civil courage not to take for granted the unsubstantiated position of the British government on this issue and publicly express your opinion.
This is planned. All politicans and media with over blown hysterical reactions demanding immediate action (why) and not going through the proper channels
This is a very dangerous situation
Russia has huge oil reserves just like all the other middle east countries that have been taken out by the military industrial complex
https://www.globalresearch.ca/world-class-journalist-spills-the-beans-admits-mainstream-media-is-completely-fake/5516749
GR Editor’s Note: This article was first published in March 2016.
I’ve been a journalist for about 25 years, and I was educated to lie, to betray, and not to tell the truth to the public.
But seeing right now within the last months how the German and American media tries to bring war to the people in Europe, to bring war to Russia — this is a point of no return and I’m going to stand up and say it is not right what I have done in the past, to manipulate people, to make propaganda against Russia, and it is not right what my colleagues do and have done in the past because they are bribed to betray the people, not only in Germany, all over Europe.
Dr. Udo Ulfkotte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_x8_i15LB4
Published on 8 Oct 2014
TY,
Seems May wants a conflict with Russia bc they bailed my country (US) out, sold the NE the oil we needed for people to keeo warm in the NE part of the country.
Either Theresa May is pissed because she didn’t get any OR because she didn’t want US to get any from Russia??? I didn’t see her offering to sell US any, although perhaps she did and I missed it??? Maybe she’s mad because Russia helped US and she missed out on the money?
Drug cartels, the Clintons and other corrupt scum are being cleaned up all over the world!
Why did May throw out the Russian diplomats? She’s trying to create a conflict based on BS, but WHY!?! She’s doing to the UK EXACTLY what Obama tried to do here in the States, yet was thankfully turned around!
She even got laws there that do not allow free speech, yet the rape gangs run around destroying young girls’ and young womens’ lives???
No one seems able to talk about it in the media there in the UK, bit we know it’s going on!
Has the Muslim Brotherhood simply talen over the UK? Has she sold out to the elites for globalism? Sending people to death camps??? People talk, and many in thr UK are looking to leave, just like What happened in Sweden. These aren’t media reports, but this is based upon picking up the phone and talking to people we know.
Some places haven’t chanfed much, but London has! A good friend used to live there. She was offered a free tripback, yet after speaking to her husband, she absolutely will not to to anyehere in Engkand, not even to visit. She’s afraid that she might get stuck there!
What happened to the UK!?! I have family that studied at the university there, yet they don’t want togo back either! That’s very sad, as I’d hoped to go some day, yet when you have to be careful you don’t say anything that might be taken the wrong way, least you be thrown behind bars, when reporters cannot speak the truth about the inbasion there, THAT is scary! THAT is fascism, REAL fascism that seems to run along the same sort of ideologies as Adolf Hitler’s, and it’s damn scary!
I hope the UK isn’t lost forever! It is a beautiful place, the people are beautiful, the culture is beautiful, yet when some people from there threaten POTUS, MY President, because of a lot of BS and obvious BS allegations, when Russia is blamed for something they seemingly did not do, when there’s input about our internal affairs here, asking for “gun ” control”, which is another way of spreading anti-freedom, allowing or forcing people to surrender their country, then there’s the hordes of refugees allowed to take over, become citizens of the UK, AND become government officials???
Whose idea was it to give the country to the Brotherhood???
Scary, yet I can see why we are getting SO many applications for citizenship! People are really scared, as perhaps they should be!?!
C-anon you are talking the nonsense spread by right Wing sites.
I have a question – Is UK media aware of your opinion and is it covered in the mainstream media. In other words, do UK public has a different view to this story, except for the one presented by the UK government?
What do you think, may the whole this story be just a step to the escalation of UK, USA and France, and possibly Germany involvement in Syrian Civil war. I see the connection: accusation of Russia in use of chemical weapons in UK and then the accusation of the Syrian government in the same things and using it as justification for the invasion in Syria to overthrow the government there and turning the country into another Libya.
Sadly, the UK press seems to be built on telling lies and misleading the public at every opportunity.
Add to that a large amount of people that would jump off a bridge if you told them to (see Brexit), and a leader that would struggle to find her way out of a lit room, you have the situation we now find ourselves in.
The Guardian is now mentioning this information: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/15/uks-claims-questioned-doubts-emerge-about-source-of-salisburys-novichok
The scientists at Porton Down and OPCW basically decided the novichok compounds didn’t exist & Mirzayanov had made them up. If they’d believed these things had any CW potential they would not have let hm put the formula in his book.
If May is claiming novichoks were involved it’s an indication the whole ting could be a psyop IMO. OffG doesn’t go that far but it does make a very good point about novichoks being likely fake
https://off-guardian.org/2018/03/15/the-farcical-reality-behind-theresa-mays-novichok-story/
“the novichok compounds didn’t exist & Mirzayanov had made them up.”
You are correct, Maxwell. For the simple reason – the word “novichok” just can’t be used by Russian speaking scientist, general or whoever for any kind of weapon – chemical, biological, nuclear. conventional etc. It’s totally against lexical semantics of the language and the bureaucratic rules as well 🙂 It’s simply laughable. Mirzayanov had made it up to buy his way to his special status in US.
PS. I hope you’ve heard about “Our man in Havana” book…
Why wouldn’t Novichok or something similar exist? People have been making this weapons for a long time, some workmen dug some up in a garden around the corner from me a couple of years back, from around World War One. Porton Down took them away and came back saying they were “training chemicals”. Yeah sure, like we were that bothered about health and safety back then. Just saying that because it’d mean we’d breached the convention if they admitted they were the real thing, more like.
Well thankyou for this a really good piece.
A real eye opener .
Hopefully the end of May is in sight .
Amen to that!
Porton Down may or may not have a finger print for Novichoks but the Americans will have as they had people crawling allover the factory when it was dismantled and I bet the Americans were falling over themselves to help by providing Porton Down with any data they needed. There is also a suggestion that the CIA were very active in impeding the addition of Novichock to the OPCW.
Thank you for some surprising clear coherent sane observations to be set aside and buttress Jeremy Corbyn’s reasonable questions at PMQ’s. It seems clear to me from reading this post that as with the run up to the Iraq debacle and the dodgy dossier your copy should be considered a far safer source of information than the Government and the Security Community. This information should be in every news paper rather than being awash with hysterical cold war mongering. How about a CIA false flag
they really want a nuclear war
Russia might not win it, but UK will surely loose it
Both ‘loose’ it and ‘lose’ it, indeed!
Everyone looses thermal nuclear WW III as we humans become virtually extinct. Now the question is why would a major world government push such an unbelievable and easy to disprove accusation? What condition would be so “threatening” to a government that WW III would be so desired? The answer lies in the history of the collapse of Empires and their systems. Today’s is the collapse of the trans atlantic system as characterized by the hopelessly bankrupt London/Wall Street financial institutions, aka. British Empire.
Russia would definitely win a nuclear war right now. They’d nuke everyone before they knew it. If, or possibly when nuclear conflict breaks out, it’ll probably be due to some blokes posturing and incompetently murdering billions of people, rather than some clever game. I doubt any of us have any say in the matter so maybe it’s best just to go enjoy a pizza and nice glass of wine… or perhaps not.
That is a reckless statement. Think again.
To be sceptical, to question, to query, I regard as a quality to be valued and encouraged, especially in this day and age. I think youre doing a fantastic piece of work here Craig, and I’m totally behind you as I’m sure are many others. Naysers of scepticism be gone. Thanks for your integrity and authenticity Craig so very much appreciated.
Yes, much appreciated. This evidence-free farce which we’re seeing from May and the MSM might just backfire. It’s happened recently, let’s hope it happens again in spades. I mean what sort of idiots do these people take us for? Pisses me off.
Why can’t the news media, seeing they are only speculating at this stage anyway, look at little closer to home for the source of the nerve agent used in the poisonings? Only a short distance from Salisbury (8.1 km if you are a crow or an 18 min drive is Porton Down. This is the site of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory – known for over 100 years as one of the UK’s most secretive and controversial military research facilities. And well-known for their secretive work on chemical and biological weapons.
Agreed.
A bit obvious don’t you think? An alternative theory: Whoever poisoned Skripal, chose him because of his vicinity to Dstl HQ, knowing that afterwards people would go straight for a logical fallacy, put 2 + 2 together and come up with a false flag operation then reap the rewards of the agitation that ensues.
That’s what I’d do. Good job I’m not in charge, otherwise you’d all be screwed.
Bodgers, the shambling oaf of Carlton Gardens, now declaims that a sample of ‘novichok’ WILL be provded to the OPCW, in compliance with treaty obligations.
A good analysis and some helpful evidence. My question is, who would kill a Russian double agent in this way? Who benefits?
Well, if the agent is ‘double’ then either side presumably! But why use this method? to incriminate the Russians?
To start WW III. Look at how wars are really started.
I, like the majority, have no idea if there is or is not a Putin or Kremlin or Russian state attempt to murder the double spy and his daughter. It may well have been. It may well also have designed by Putin to interfere in forthcoming general election and also tostop the swing to a socialist leaning administration under Jeremy Corbyn
I urge everyone not to be fooled by Tory Party tactics to paint the Official Leader of the opposition, Shadow Foreign and Home Secretaries and Shadow Chancellor as Enemies of the State and this morning March 14th 2018 we had a second example where some Labour Party Members and the Official spokesman for the Scottish Nationalists showed the kind of John Bull send in the gunboats mentality which Tony Blair achieved when he persuaded the House of Commons to support his war in Iraq based on the dodgy dossier.
First before reading further please listen or read the text of what Jeremy Corbyn actually said this afternoon and pay attention to the questions he asked which the Prime Minister evaded and backbenchers jeered..
These are the facts. The Prime Minister supported by the Foreign Secretary has provided a Royal state visit to the Saudi reactionaries who think it is a big deal to allow women to drive. Accounts have emerged of the extent to which women who go to Mecca have been raped and sexually abused and we have the recent evidence from places as diverse as Oxford, Telford and Rotherham of Asian men, men of Pakistan origin who regard all woman as sex objects and have preyed upon vulnerable young people who are white because there are internal rules within their religion that if you rape a woman you are not punished if you marry her and this is an open approach in many Muslim controlled state. Yesterday it was good to listen to BBC radio make clear these facts when interviewing the Conservative Party member for Telford who called for an independent investigation into what has happened there, which the Labour local authority has today agreed having attempted to kick into long grass by passing to the Inquiry for England and Wales who said no.
The visit of the Saudi dictator was designed to sell more British made weapons to be used on civilians, however unintentional, by the Saudi’s in the Yemen as they have in the past where the numbers of dead and severely injured continues to rise and disease epidemics and food and water shortages continue. So much for the attack on the lack of civil rights in Russia where women have greater rights but both tyrants imprison and kill their political opponents. Members of the Saudi Royal Household have financed and supported Terrorism and may still do.
Beware also that Mrs May has announced that she intends to introduce legislation which gives the government powers to secretly monitor and act against anyone she and her government considers to be enemies of the state beyond the issue of terrorism. This may be just a ploy against Jeremey Corbyn who has consistently voted against the measures taken and proposed. In this he is supported by former British MI5 and M6 agent John Cornwall, better known as John Le Carré who has written that Britain’s Big Brother 1984 state is the envy of spy organisations world wide
It Is the Tory Government over the past seven years with Liberal Democrat help over the first five years that cut back on our defence services, on diplomacy and the police. I accept that she has strengthened anti terrorism forces, but her success is demonstrated by the four attacks in London, the attack in Manchester and in Salisbury. The Government has no proof the Salisbury attack was directed by the Russian president or his Government and today the French President has joined Jeremy Corbyn in requesting Britain make the available evidence to a recognised independent body for assessment.
The wod of Mrs May cannot be trusted, I won’t call an election yes, I will call an election. We won’t accept this or that re the EEC referendum but then I will when her position is threatened within the cabinet. Her agenda is to stop Labour coming to power under Jeremy Corbin and she will say and do what it takes to achieve this objective. Hugh Gaitskell the former Labour Leader in a personal letter once wrote to me that the Tories will do or say anything to get and stay in power. I disagreed with him over weapons of mass civilian extermination but he was right what he said back in the1960’s about Tory belief in their destiny to rule.
Nor should anyone be fooled by promised to do something about the Russians who have made billions fortunes exploiting Russian people. Putin himself was poor and is now one of the richest individuals on the planet with his money placed one suspects through London and other complex levels of out of Russia, beyond tax money laundering and hiding. At least it is real money stolen from his people unlike Trump where the complexity which is said to begin with the German Deutscher bank is also reported to mask questions about the real value of his empire ( my source here is the excellent book Collusion by Luke Harding) and the BBC also did an excellent documentary on how Putin came to power was courted by Bush and Blair and decided to concentrate on being wealthy and untouchable using his security service former colleagues and lifelong associates to become Tsar He like the current President of China have been impressed by Britain having a heredity crowned life term head of state and have decided to follow suit.
When Mr Corbyn politely pointed out in response to the first statement by Mrs May on Monday that her Party had accepted over three quarters of a million direct from Russians in London and we don’t know if they have also funded the various Tory Party front organisations or global financial and business interests that now use the global intelligence and security organisations which use London as their base employing former and one assumes some seconded British security personnel for off the books work
It is also worth reminding that we have been here before with Mrs Thatcher. In 1979 she bypassed MI5 who opposed her wish to vet everyone who applied for any job with government or government contract to stop socialists and trade union activists who could or otherwise be blackmailed or bought. Most people are not aware that the number vetting each year rose to over 300000 and in total between 3 to 4 million applications. Soruce the history of MI5. She then used agencies to do the blacklisting. She also was given advice to take on Argentina over the Falklands despite the potential cost. Russia is not Argentina and the majority Russian Chinese, and the world regards bulldog England with contempt and derision.
A further but different example of the Tory plan to split the Parliamentary Party from its leadership and membership was the Shadow Chancellor attacking 20plus minute Party Political broadcast on the economy given by Chancellor Hammond yesterday. It was a great Party-political broadcast and performance by him. It was brilliantly effective and timed to end at I pm. Some idiot (the kindest description) in the BBC radio News team swallowed the bait and cut the response of the official Opposition after one minute. So, we have had three days of electioneering to cover the bad polls and the difficulties over Brexit
This evening I joined an audience in 400 other cinemas to wish Michael Caine happy 85th birth when in a live half hour after the first public showing of the brilliant film of his life centred on the rise of working class youth in the 1960’s and called My generation. He provided a devastating indictment of the return to establishment power and enslavement of most of the people to know their place. Fortunately for those who have missed the event in addition to the film being given further showings there are six programmes on the background interviews with some of the leading figures of the era to be shown on TV. . It is a brilliant film and the live after session ranks alongside that given last year by John Le Carré.
For those who think I am exaggerating watch the Tory backbenchers and some of those on the front during Prime Minister Question Time earlier today and you witness the sincerity, integrity of their form of politics. There one word to describe what has happened over the past three days. Hypocrisy.
Sorry, big long post and I’m only going to concentrate on your first line, which might be a bit infuriating!
“I, like the majority, have no idea if there is or is not a Putin or Kremlin or Russian state attempt to murder the double spy and his daughter. It may well have been. ”
I have an idea: They didn’t. The reason is very simple: If Putin, or the Kremlin or Russian state wants to kill someone, they kill them, they will be dead right now.
They didn’t kill them.
One ex spy dead of ‘natural causes’ is really not much use to anyone unless they were an immediate risk. Which suggests that Skripal is probably irrelevant himself and just a pawn. The poisoning isn’t really the deed itself, it’s the reaction to the poisoning that matters.
I’ve read the title article and some of the attached comments. I totally agree with the general concensus that the world governments, commercial entities and press feed the population nothing but sensationalised rubbish. In my humble opinion the socio-economic structure the world has created is no longer fit for purpose. I know this comment of mine is going off on a tangent but in almost all walks of life the people are dissatisfied. Is it not time to radically change how the world and its inhabitants plan the future?
Yup. It sure is!
Well, I merely follow bits of data around, place myself in the shoes of the players, think out moves ahead using different scenarios, reach no conclusions, use self doubt etc. Works pretty well. For example, I predicted that David Cameron would resign, that Theresa May would be the next Prime Minister and that there’d be an election which the Tories would win in 2017 (although I didn’t predict a minority), all over a year in advance. I don’t read newspapers and don’t have a TV, which may lend weight to your point to be fair!
May refuses to give Russia a Novichok sample because she doesn’t have one!
Your are wrong! She has Novichok. But there is a problem – there a sticker on its package “Made in UK” and she doesn’t know how to remove it 🙂
If someone murders someone with poison, the police then don’t give the suspected murderer a sample of the poison to analyse do they?
That makes no sense.
Thank you for this useful information. I believe that the chances Russia used this agent on Skripal are slight but not impossible. It is far more probable that someone who wanted to demonise Putin and Russia was responsible, leaving a trail of “evidence” pointing to the Kremlin that even Inspecteur Clouseau would have spotted.
Having been a close observer of Putin for many years I do not believe he would have carried out this operation in the way it was done. Why now? Has had ample opportunity before. Timing is suspiscious/convenient to his enemies! What did he have to gain by doing it. Nothing! To lose? Huge amount. Who does it benefit then? I think we know. Look to more intervention in Syria by US/UK/Israel. Assad remains the no1 target as he has been throughout despite what the allies say. Replacing Assad with US friendly puppet regime suits Israel, oil companies (Genie Oil – Rothschild, Cheney, Murdoch) KSA, UK and undermines Russia, Iran and Putin who is the ultimate stumbling block to western hegemony in the region. It’s a demonically insane plot and cannot possibly succeed as long as Putin has his finger on the nuclear button. Hence the constant demonisation of Putin in western corridors of power and mainstream media. This cabal of thieves want Syria, Iran and Putin out of their way and the deep state psychopaths in Washington, London, Tel-Aviiv and their Saudi allies think they can win a nuclear war with Russia. They are mad. Watch this space as they say! We are living in dangerous times.
Demonise Putin? Really? Haha.
I am just gobsmacked at these leaders including my own country [AUSTRALIA ] tell us its that Russia is guilty,overwhelming evidence end of subject .The majority of Aussies dont believe a word of it and do you notice they describe victim as Russian agent when in fact he was a Double Agent who after spending 4 years in Russian prison for treason,Britain swapped a Russian for him. Some very powerful people dont want Britain to leave EU including George Soros to me its almost like Europe is saying ‘see we will always have your back Britain and our loyalty while you are in the Union ] Its a shocking shame that British Parliament doesnt have the same fury for British schoolgirls being kept as sex slaves on British soil by a huge Muslim Pedophile gang. ‘Look at who you cannot critisize and i will show you who is your ruler’ So tired of feeling powerless against powerful old fools especially when there frothing for a war.
You are right, I can only add that after the guy was swapped for the Russian spies he lived in the UK for another 8 year. 12 years passed since the moment he was caught and sentenced. and the major question is why to kill him NOW? Several days before the elections in Russia. .
Oh. Has Skripal now died then?
:
Great work Craig, as always.
.
The comparison with Iraqi WMD is misleading: in this case we have actual casualties and a weapon. In the Iraqi case there was neither. Saddam Husain gassed the Kurds, but CW synthesis facilities and stockpiles had been destroyed before the US-led invasion in the 2nd Gulf War (and no credible carrier/ballistic system to deploy them in the West). Here we have actual deployment in the West, casualties and the CW itself. We also have a pattern of targeted killings using the same MO by Russia of opposition journalists and politicians (the killing of Trotsky in Mexico 15 years after being purged by Stalin can be mentioned as culturally consistent with this mindset) as well as broader strategic disruption patterns by Russia in Western democracies. There is no credible alternative culprit to Russian Federation government involvement either indirectly (by proxy) or directly. If there is: name it.
For the benefit of other contributors, the UK PM made statement in House of Commons on 14/03/2018. This said that UK government would be providing a sample of the novichok linked to the Salisbury incident to the OPCW for investigation. This conflicts with Summary point 5 in Craig Murray’s article which says, ‘The UK is refusing to provide a sample to the OPCW.’
No doubt the article was prepared before the PM’s statement and so there was no intention to mislead. However it is important that the author should correct/update Summary point 5 in order that other readers/contributors should not continue to be misled.
Skripals were highly likely poisoned on March 4th, right? Today is March 16th. I guess it’s a little bit too long for “would provide” promise, don’t you think? UK didn’t provide any “samples” nor cause of Litvinenko’s death, BTW. So the only misleading are MP’s words so far.
Most MPs are unlikely to really know much. Certain Privy Council members, yes, ordinary MPs, no.
The specific issue here is the clear difference between the term, ‘refusing to provide’ and the term, ‘would provide’ don’t you think?
You state that UK did not provide cause of Litvinenko’s death. Really? Someone did. Who might that be then ….?
Also, you are suggesting that the UK Prime Minister has misled the House. Are you aware of the penalty for this? If so, i suggest you write to your MP with this allegation. Or to the Leader of the House. That is unless you are a Russian national or a Russian ‘bot. Some of your language suggests the latter.
The guy spent 4 years in the KGB prison and then was exchanged for the Russian spys, lived in the UK for 8 years. Putin had 12(!) years to kill him. After all these years Skripal was absolutely harmless for Russia. Why to kill him several days before the Russian elections and before the Football championship? Who has got benefits out of his death? Complete nonsense even without any other evidence.
I doubt anyone has tried to kill Skripal. This doesn’t look like an extra judicial killing in line with the 2006 ruling, it looks like political posturing and agitation. If they’d have wanted to kill him, he’d be dead, we’d probably not even know why. Natural causes. Just drop down dead of a pulmonary embolism or something.
Britain under WESTMINSTER THE ENEMY is in a condition of #SOFT1984 aka ‘Boiling Frogs’.
Every child born must be SCHOOLED to uncritical acceptance of apparent authority.
The voter-mass represent success of the school system in legitimising ‘D’ MOCK CRASS Y? in the name of democracy.
It follows that nothing is as it seems. This was never more true than under Novicheck, though some ‘terror’ incidents do not bear scrutiny.
Just one quality FALSE FLAG event, and the curfew, identity checks – even rule by diktat, will descend.
Person the barricades!
1. Novichok compounds didn’t exist. For the simple reason – the word “novichok” just can’t be used by Russian speaking scientist, general or whoever for any kind of weapon – chemical, biological, nuclear, conventional etc. It’s totally against lexical semantics of the language and the bureaucratic rules as well 🙂 It’s simply laughable. Mirzayanov had made this all up to buy his way to his special status in US.
Mirzayanov case was well described “Our man in Havana” novel by the British author Graham Greene in 1958. And Mirzayanov highly likely read it.
2. What is more interesting – why so fast? Two people were found on the bench in very strange conditions. How many drank, drugged etc. people are found in everyday all over UK? Do they all immediately checked for chemical weapons poisoning? Or just transported to the nearest overcrowded emergency room to be treated as any other tens or hundreds of clients? If “novichok” (sorry, can’t write this word without LOL) is so terribly deadly – why medics still alive? 🙂 Looks like a cheap scam show for me.
I suspect the British Intelligence services would have had Skripal placed at Salisbury because it’s near Dstl HQ and then given his photo to the local police or even generally warned services of potential use of nerve agents against people in the area as a result (or even as a result of some breach at Porton Down) as a safety precaution.
At least, that’s what I’d do.