Alexander Yakovenko, Russia’s ambassador to London, was giving a press conference at the same time as Sir Mark Sedwill’s letter was publicised by Downing Street KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/APRussia spied on a former double agent in the five years before he and his daughter were attacked with a chemical weapon in Salisbury, Britain’s security chief has revealed. Sir Mark Sedwill also said Moscow had an assassination programme based around nerve agents that included targeting a victim by smearing poison on a door handle. The highest concentration of the Russian novichok nerve agent that was used in the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal was on the front door handle at the house of the former Russian military officer-turned MI6 spy. Theresa May’s national security adviser said that President Putin “was closely involved in the Russian chemical weapons programme” in the mid-2000s. And he said that Moscow retains the ability to produce more…

Source: The Times April 13, 2018 16:04 UTC