Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter ‘were poisoned on their doorstep’ say UK police

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British Army officers on Friday remove the bench on which Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Britain. Police believe the pair were exposed to the nerve agent Novichok occurred at their home in the city. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:55am, 29 Mar 2018Updated: 8:45pm, 29 Mar 2018

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter first came into contact with a nerve agent at their home address in Britain, police said on Wednesday as the high-profile probe into the attack continues.

“At this point in our investigation, we believe the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent from their front door,” said Dean Haydon from London’s Metropolitan Police.

The March 4 attack on the Skripals in the English city of Salisbury has been met with a major response that has seen more than 150 Russian diplomats expelled from countries around the world.

Former Russian military intelligence colonel Sergei Skripal attends a hearing at the Moscow District Military Court in Moscow on August 9, 2006. Photo: Kommersant via AFP

British authorities have blamed Moscow, which denies any involvement, and said a Soviet-designed nerve agent dubbed Novichok was used in the poisoning.

“Traces of the nerve agent have been found at some of the other scenes detectives have been working at over the past few weeks, but at lower concentrations to that found at the home address,” said Haydon.

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