Woman is hustled out of office block next to Zizzi's after police, fire and paramedics flood the building amid fears the Russian spy's 'contamination trail' has spread

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An office worker was today hustled out of the building next door to Zizzi which has been sealed off by police investigating the suspected poisoning of Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

The woman walked towards a parked ambulance as emergency services converged in the street while police probe why Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed in Salisbury.

Employees working in the building were later allowed back in but were forced to duck under a police tape cordon that had been placed across Sarum House.

The three-storey building houses three companies, Rowanmoor, a pension company, Embark Group and savings company Vested.

A woman (centre frame, brown hair) is escorted out of Sarum House - which is next door to the Zizzi's restaurant - and into a waiting ambulance by paramedics and police

The woman was escorted out of the building and driven off on Wednesday afternoon in Salisbury 

Police and emergency services suddenly took over an office building next to Zizzi where a former Russian double agent ate before he was found 'catatonic' from suspecting poisoning

Fire engines and ambulances arrived at the scene this afternoon as the investigation expanded

Hazmat crews - who have been searching the Zizzi's restaurant next door - were not called into action.

Wiltshire Police has refused to comment and it is not known if the incident is linked to the suspected poisoning but one staff member said the office would would be closed on Sunday.

Mr Skripal and his daughter are still critically ill in hospital after they collapsed in an incident which has further heightened tensions between Britain and Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Scotland Yard investigators are now frantically trying to work who was behind their suspected poisoning and what toxic substance they were given.   

Sergei Skripal, 66, (left, in 2006) and his daughter Yulia, 33, (right) are critically ill in hospital after being exposed to an unknown substance

This CCTV was identified by a witness as Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old companion shortly before they were the victims of a suspected poisoning

As anti-terror police investigate the suspected poisoning, one line of inquiry is that the former Russian army colonel was ambushed by attackers who sprayed him with substance in the street.

Another possibility investigators are looking at is that Mr Skripal's drink was spiked at a pub he and is daughter visited shortly before they collapsed.

Top of the list of possible poisons used is said to be Thallium, a highly toxic but tasteless, colourless and odourless substance.

CCTV is believed to show the father and daughter walking through Salisbury moments before they were found collapsed in a park. However, some witnesses have suggested the blonde woman in the footage may be a third person.  

The incident is being treated as an assassination attempt linked to the Kremlin, Whitehall sources confirmed to The Times.

But other theories, including that a rival faction may want to frame Russia for the incident - have yet to be ruled out.

The deaths of Mr Skripal's wife from cancer in 2012 and his son Alexandr's death in St. Petersburg last year will be looked into as part of the investigation.

Authorities in St Petersburg have told local news agencies they have no record of him having died there.

A cordon was widened around a pub and restaurant at the centre of the investigation. Emergency services have also taped off the park where the Skripals were found. His home in the west of the city is being investigated, as is an ambulance station in nearby Amesbury. Salisbury District's hospital declared an incident that day after the pair were found

This letter was posted on Facebook, appearing to be a child's school work criticising Putin

Yulia was among those who responded to the post, commenting 'nice' beneath it

Yulia Skripal is understood to be a businesswoman who has worked for Nike and Pepsico

Instead, he is said to have arrived in the city on a train in July last year and booked a ricked to fly to England in August.

His daughter Yulia, a businesswoman based in Moscow who was visiting her father, is not thought to have been the main target.

It emerged today that she remarked 'nice' on a letter posted on Facebook which said Putin is 'the worst president in the world' and should be jailed.

Firefighters in Hazmat suits have taken over an ambulance base, where the ambulance which carried the pair is thought to have been taken.

Police in Salisbury have widened their cordon to the site where Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter, 33, were taken ill, expanding it beyond the restaurant and pub which were initially closed off, while forensic teams continued to examine the scene.

Detectives are continuing to carrying out an inspection of the Zizzi in Salisbury town centre, with the restaurant closed since Monday morning.

This is the moment the daughter of a Russian who spied for MI6 was airlifted to hospital after she and her father were found collapsed in Salisbury following a suspected poisoning

Police are to investigate the deaths of Mr Skripal's wife, Liudmila, who is thought to have died from cancer in 2012

Mr Skripal's son Alexander also died while in Russia last year. The family's cleaner said he died of liver problems, but some family members are said to have had suspicions

An official at military research centre at Porton Down, which is helping with the case, said medics were treating 'symptoms rather than causes', according to the BBC.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of the Army's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, said the comment was 'significant'. 

Commenting on the possible poison, he said: 'I don't think it's polonium - the incubation period is too long and the decontamination that's been reported is not the kind you would do for a radioactive isotope.

'If Porton Down are saying they are treating symptoms rather than causes they are doing palliative care.

'If it was a nerve agent they would be given an antidote, which leads me to believe it is probably not a nerve agent.

'Porton Down have no doubt taken blood samples and they should know by now what it is.

'Toxins like ricin - there's no antidote for that. If people are poisoned with ricin or abrin you treat the symptoms.' 

Russia president Vladimir Putin, whose country is suspected to be behind the incident, appeared untroubled as he toured a sweet and cake factory in the Samara region today

Russia has said it wasn't involved in Skripal's collapse, with papers loyal to the Kremlin calling accusations 'Russo-phobic'

Former KGB man Putin, pictured today, has not commented on the incident himself

It is not clear when the Skripals were confronted, having left a branch of Italian restaurant chain Zizzi between 2pm and 3pm.

After leaving the restaurant, they are thought to have gone to a nearby a pub called The Mill. They were then seen walking through a shopping precinct and found on a bench overlooking the Avon shortly after 4pm. 

Several bystanders went to their aid as Mr Skripal fell into a catatonic state and Yulia appeared to suffer a fit on the ground. 

Up to ten emergency service workers were also assessed by medical staff after treating the Skripals, of whom one remains in hospital.

Counter-terror detectives from Scotland Yard have assumed control of the probe, which has taken on political and international significance, and led to a meeting of the National Security Council. 

Some emergency workers had complained of suffering itchy eyes and difficulty breathing, suggesting some of the mystery poison may have remained in the air, while their colleagues put on full biohazard suits and respirators. Up to 10 other people suffered symptoms including vomiting.

Tests on the substance involved are being carried out at the defence research centre at Porton Down.  

Toxicologists will examine samples of blood, urine and tissue taken from the victims at Salisbury District Hospital. 

One former radiation biologist said the 'considerable rapidity' of their decline suggested a chemical source. 'Decontamination at the scene would also suggest that possibility,' he added.

'However, we shouldn't totally ignore biological contamination of food or the environment. However, the latter would have caused a wider response from Public Health England and the authorities.'

Former Metropolitan Police commander Bob Broadhurst said police and health staff will be working in tandem to identify the poison. 

'It overlaps in terms of public safety between the investigative police world and the forensic medical world,' he said.

'What was the cause of this illness? Was it a poison, and if so how did he ingest it? Who else is potentially at risk? You will have almost a parallel investigation – detectives and doctors trying to find cause and effect.'

Investigators next to a police tent outside the Mill pub at the Maltings in Salisbury near to where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was found critically ill

Police appealed for information as a large number of officers remain in Salisbury today

Home Secretary says more is now known about substance

Home Secretary Amber Rudd told reporters after this morning's Cobra emergency committee meeting: 'We do know more about the substance, the police will be making a further statement this afternoon in order to share some of that.'

She said: 'We must let the police carry on their work, they will share what they can but I'm sure there will be more updates as the investigation continues.

'There is a lot of information about Sergei Skripal in the public domain at the moment but I'm not going to comment any further about that because I do believe the police need to get on with their investigation and finding out more about him will be part of it.' 

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Professor Alastair Hay of Leeds University said it could take some time before the test results are known. 

'Individuals cannot provide unlimited amounts of blood for testing so investigations will be guided by the clinical team,' Professor Hay said.

'Some tests are rapid and some [poison] candidates will be looked at quickly. But if the cause is more unusual, body fluids will require significant clean-up preparation before they can be put in an instrument. 

'So this could take a day or several days.'

'Police had a good look at the footage and were interested in these two people. It was the only image they took away,' said Cain Prince, 28, the manager of a nearby gym. 

'They wanted a list of everyone in the gym between 3pm and 4pm as well.' 

Mr Skripal was jailed in Moscow for selling Russian secrets more than a decade ago - but had set up home in the south of England after a Cold War-style 'spy swap' with Russian agents including Anna Chapman.

But a relative of Mr Skripal has said he knew he would not escape his past that easily.

He told BBC Russia: 'From the first day he knew it would end badly, and that he would not be left alone'.  

Police seal off the back of The Mill, a Greene King pub where Mr Skripal and his daughter are believed to have attended, as the police cordon is extended in Salisbury

Police in protective suits and gas masks are seen inside Zizzi's restaurant in Salisbury, where Mr Skripal and his daughter visited before being taken ill 

Police officers are pictured with a vehicle outside the home of Sergei Skripal yesterday 

Home Secretary Amber Rudd will chair a meeting of the Government's emergency committee Cobra on Wednesday morning to discuss the ongoing investigation into the incident in Salisbury. 

Two fire engines and a mobile control unit were at the ambulance base at Solstice Park in Amesbury, about seven miles from Salisbury.

It is believed crews who attended the emergency call out on Sunday were among the first responders who later had hospital treatment after coming into contact with Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The Met Police, whose counter-terrorism unit has taken over the investigation, today appealed for information.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: 'The focus at this time is to establish what has caused these people to become critically ill. 

'We would like to reassure members of the public that this incident is being taken extremely seriously and we currently do not believe there is any risk to the wider public.'

An eyewitness said Skripal and his daughter seemed 'out of it' after she came across the pair slumped on the bench at the shopping centre. Top right: A police tent covers the spot where they were found

Police said the pair, named by media Mr Skripal and his daughter, had been 'exposed to an unknown substance'

The entrance to the accident and emergency department at Salisbury District Hospital where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was taken for treatment

He added: 'We are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact police immediately on 999. 

'We would like to hear from anybody who visited the area close to the Maltings shopping centre where these two people were taken ill on Sunday afternoon, and may have seen something that could assist the investigation.

'The two people taken ill were in Salisbury centre from around 13.30hrs. Did you see anything out of the ordinary? 

'It may be that at the time, nothing appeared out of place or untoward but with what you now know, you remember something that might be of significance. Your memory of that afternoon and your movements alone could help us with missing pieces of the investigation.'

Who is Russian double agent Sergei Skripal? How 'Spy with the Louis Vuitton bag' narrowly avoided execution after selling secrets to MI6

Sergei Skripal (pictured) unmasked dozens of secret agents and gave information to MI6 

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence, was considered by the Kremlin to be one of the most damaging spies of his generation.

He was responsible for unmasking dozens of secret agents threatening Western interests by operating undercover in Europe.

Col Skripal, 66, allegedly received £78,000 in exchange for taking huge risks to pass classified information to MI6.

In 2006, he was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp after being convicted of passing invaluable Russian secrets to the UK.

A senior source in Moscow said at the time: 'This man is a big hero for MI6.'

After being convicted of 'high treason in the form of espionage' by Moscow's military court, Col Skripal was stripped of his rank, medals and state awards.

He was alleged by Russia's security service, the FSB, to have begun working for the British secret services while serving in the army in the 1990s.

He was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp when he was convicted of passing secrets to Britain 

He passed information classified as state secrets and was paid for the work by MI6, the FSB claimed.

Col Skripal pleaded guilty at the trial and co-operated with investigators, reports said at the time. He admitted his activities and gave a full account of his spying, which led to a reduced sentence. 

In July 2010, he was pardoned by then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and was one of four spies exchanged for ten Russian agents deported from the US in an historic swap involving red-headed 'femme fatale' Anna Chapman.

Mrs Chapman, then 28, was a Manhattan socialite and diplomat's daughter, who had lived and worked in London during a four-year marriage to British public schoolboy Alex Chapman.

After the swap at Vienna airport, Col Skripal was one of two spies who came to Britain and he has kept a low profile for the past eight years.

He moved into a £350,000 home in Salisbury and collapsed outside a shopping centre in the city centre 

He is understood to have been debriefed for months before being given a home and a pension.

The former spy was living at an address in Salisbury, Wiltshire, when the suspected poisoning took place in the city centre. 

Reports in Russia suggested that Mr Skripal was originally recruited by MI6 in Tallinn, Estonia, and may have lectured on the KGB tactics since moving to Britain.

He often went to his local shop to buy a particular type of Polish sausage and spent up to £40 a time on lottery scratch cards and was described as a 'polite' and 'kind' customer who often won money. 

Adam Blake who owns local firm A2B Taxis, said he 'fairly regularly' used to pick up Mr Skripal, who is fighting for his life after being exposed to a mystery substance.

Mr Blake told the Daily Mirror: 'He had a black-faced ring with an animal on it, a wolf I think, and would kiss the ring and ask if you wanted to kiss it.

'Then he would look each way, as if joking, and say, "I'm a Russian spy". He would say it to all the drivers and nobody ever believed him.

'I would often see him standing around town in doorways too, looking around suspiciously as if he was really trying to portray the spy image.'

He also joined the £10-a-year Railway Social Club in the city and neighbours said they did not know him well, although he organised a house-warming party shortly after moving in, inviting people by dropping notes through doors. 

It was also revealed how he had suffered two bereavements within just five years when his wife Lyudmila died aged 59 in 2012, before his son Alexandr passed away aged 43 in 2017. 

This video shows the evidence used to convict Skripal of spying in Russia and his high-profile arrest in Moscow in 2004 

His neighbour Blake Stephens, 24, said: 'He used to live with his wife but unfortunately she died in a car accident a while ago.' 

Col Skripal was turned by MI6 when he was posted abroad as a GRU military intelligence agent in Europe in the mid-1990s.

During his years working for MI6, the balding spy unmasked dozens of agents threatening Western interests.

Col Skripal was so well-connected that even after his retirement from his spy service in 1999 he continued to pass exceptional secrets to London by staying in touch with his former colleagues as a reservist officer. 

He was nicknamed 'the spy with the Louis Vuitton bag' after grainy pictures showed him carrying a bag at an airport en route to a meeting with his handlers.

He may finally have been snared by the FSB after passing his intelligence to MI6's infamous James Bond-style 'spy rock' – a fake stone packed with receiving equipment in a Moscow park.

Russian secret services exposed the ploy in 2006, revealing how British agents transmitted their data to the rock via a hidden hand-held device while walking past it.

Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured yesterday) once hinted at how his country deals with spies by insisting that 'traitors always end in a bad way'

After Col Skripal's conviction, one official said: 'His activities caused a significant blow to Russia's external security.'

Chief military prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said: 'It is impossible to measure in roubles or anything else the amount of harm caused by Skripal.'

State-run TV in Russia even compared him to the legendary Soviet double agent Oleg Penkovsky, who spied for Britain and the US during the height of the Cold War.

Penkovsky was shot by a firing squad in 1963 and is regarded as one of the most effective spies of all time.  

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Who is the daughter of Russian spy Sergei Skripal? 'Ex-Holiday Inn employee' Yulia moved to London seven years ago and was visiting her father when pair were taken ill

The critically-ill daughter of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal is a businesswoman who supported jailing Vladimir Putin on Facebook.

Yulia Skripal, 33, moved to London in 2010 - the same year her father was granted refuge in Britain - and relocated to Southampton, Hampshire.

She has since moved between the UK and Russia, working for Nike in the Russian capital and PepsiCo, according to her social media accounts.

According to her Facebook page she went to school and university in Moscow and lived in Malta for some time when she was young.

She remains in a critical condition after she collapsed in Salisbury city centre with her father 

In 2008, she started her role as a Customer Operations Representative at Nike after she graduated from Moscow State Humanities University.

Two years later she quit the job and moved to London before relocating to the south coast when she worked for Holiday Inn in Southampton. 

It is unclear whether she lived with her father or if she had a boyfriend or partner in London. 

In 2012, her father later moved into a £350,000 four-bedroom home in Salisbury - just 20 miles west of Southampton - and the house was paid for in cash.

It was previously owned by Wiltshire Police and neighbours described her father as being a 'happy man' who drove a BMW 3 Series. 

Yulia (left) reported the death of her father's wife to Wiltshire Police when she died in 2012

And it has now emerged that she wrote 'nice' when a friend said he hoped the Russian President would be jailed in his anti-Putin letter. 

His letter read: 'I want to put in to jail Vladimir Putin, because I think that he is the worst president in the world. He stole so much money that they can feed a small starving country.'

It is understood Yulia had moved back to Russia and was visiting her father when they were taken ill.  

Mr Skripal's housekeeper said she had been asked to clean Yulia's bedroom before her arrival. 

In 2012, her mother Liudmilla died and Yulia reported the death to Wiltshire Council.

She recorded her father's occupation as a 'retired local government planning officer'.

According to her Facebook, Ms Skripal attended Moscow State Humanities University

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From a row over risotto at an Italian restaurant to collapse on a park bench, how the 'poisoning' unfolded

SUNDAY 2.30PM A seafood lunch that ended with a bust-up over the bill 

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, 33, left his neat, red brick £350,000 semi detached in Salisbury and made their way to Zizzi in the city centre, less than two miles away.

The restaurant, in Castle Street, was busy when they arrived, but they declined the seats offered to them at the front, instead selecting ones at the back, close to the kitchen. They began with a starter of garlic bread to share followed by two glasses of white wine.

They ordered from the menu, choosing the 600 calorie risotto pesce with king prawns, mussels and squid rings in a tomato, chilli and white wine sauce.

The police investigation centres on Salisbury's Zizzi restaurant, a nearby pub and the park where Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found on Sunday

Police officers man a cordon near a forensic tent where Sergei Skripal, 66 and his daughter Yulia Skripal, in her 30s, were found unconscious in Salisbury town centre

Detectives are trying to work out if Skripal was given the mystery substance in the restaurant

But within minutes Mr Skripal had become angry, a witness said. 'I think he was swearing in Russian,' said the man, who did not want to be named.

'She was just sitting there quietly, and didn't really say anything. They were both smartly dressed, she was in a black coat.

'They were speaking to each other in Russian.' He said Mr Skripal appeared annoyed that their main course had taken 20 minutes to arrive - and appeared in a hurry to leave. He was going absolutely crazy, I didn't understand it and I couldn't understand him.

'They had not been seen for a little while by the front of house staff, but I think it was more than that. He just wanted his food and to go. He was just shouting and losing his temper. I would have asked him to leave. He just said 'I want my food and my bill'. The waiter took him the bill at the same time as the main course, which was unusual.

Freya Church, 27, who spotted the pair 'slumped' and 'passed out' on the bench told the Press Association the couple in the CCTV images were '100%' the people she saw on Sunday

Witness Freya Church walks with a policeman near the place in Salisbury where the two people were found unconscious 

I don't think they paid all of the bill. I think they were given a discount because he was so angry and agitated. He had to wait about 20 minutes for his main course.

'I think it was easier for the staff just to give him money to leave as he was so angry.

'They were sitting by themselves at the back of the restaurant but I think people were pleased when they left. They were only there for about 45 minutes. It was a quick lunch. He just wanted to get out of there. She was silent, perhaps embarrassed.' 

He added: 'He didn't seem to have to wait long for his food. I noticed him first because they were sitting by themselves, and because he was an older man with a younger woman, and because he was losing his temper. He didn't seem ill physically, but perhaps mentally ill with the way he was shouting. The witness said other than appearing angry, there was no sign that either of them were ill.

'They weren't poisoned at Zizzi. I saw the chef prepare the food,' he said. 'No one could have sneaked in and added anything to his food there, the kitchen is open. The drinks are made at the bar which is by the door, but I think it is unlikely. No one could get to him.' Their total food bill - for the risotto, garlic bread and wine, would have been £39.25, or £31.40 with a 20 per cent discount.

A police tent has been put up over the park bench where the pair appeared 'catatonic'

3.47PM Spotted on CCTV holding hands before being found 'looking homeless' on bench 

After paying by card the couple left and were later spotted on CCTV walking hurriedly down an alleyway connecting Zizzi and The Maltings and the bench where they were later found.

In the footage, from cameras at a gym, the pair appear to be walking briskly along the street holding hands, and show no signs of any illness. 

But just 16 minutes later, personal trainer Freya Church, 27, came across them slumped on a bench. She said they seemed 'out of it' and assumed they were on drugs. 'It was a young, blonde and pretty girl and it was definitely the man that's been pictured in the news - the guy that's a spy. She was passed out and he was looking up to the sky and I tried to get eye contact to see if they were okay.

'They didn't seem with it. To be honest I thought they were just drugged out as they were in a weird state. There are lots of homeless people here so I just thought they were homeless.' 

Police also threw a cordon around a nearby pub as they desperately trying to piece together where the father and daughter had been and who else might be affected

4.03PM White-faced and frothing at the mouth 

Witness Jamie Paine told the BBC: 'Her eyes were just completely white, they were wide open, but just white and frothing at the mouth. And then the man went stiff, his arms stopped moving and still looking dead straight.' 

Georgia Pridham, 25, also saw the couple slumped on the bench. She said: 'He was quite smartly dressed. He had his palms up to the sky as if he was shrugging and was staring at the building in front of him. 

He had a woman sat next to him on the bench who was slumped on his shoulder.' She added: 'He was staring dead straight. He was conscious but it was like he was frozen and slightly rocking back and forward.' Two police officers helped the pair before emergency services were called at 4.15pm.

Graham Mulcock said: 'The paramedics seemed to be struggling to keep the two people conscious. 

The inside and outside of The Mill pub in Salisbury are pictured after it was sealed off by police

The man was sitting staring into space in a catatonic state.' Destiny Reynolds, 20, who works in Ganesha Handicrafts in the cen-tre, said: 'I saw quite a lot of commotion - there were two people sat on the bench and there was a security guard there.

'They put her on the ground in the recovery position, and she was shaking like she was having a seizure. It was a bit manic. There were a lot of people crowded round them. It was raining, people had umbrellas and were putting them over them.' An air ambulance landed on a nearby shopping centre car park and Miss Skripal was taken to hospital while her father was taken by road.

But it was not until the next day, when hospital staff discovered their identity - and their links to Russia - that a major incident was declared.

The pair were taken to hospital after they collapsed inside The Maltings shopping centre after coming into contact with an unknown substance. Pictured, emergency crews at the centre

The A&E department at Salisbury District Hospital was closed, while two incident response unit ambulances and the fire service were called to the hospital to treat the patients and decontaminate the department.

Zizzi restaurant was also closed and police took away the table and chairs they were sitting at, examined the kitchen and food and interviewed staff. A pub, The Mill, in the Maltings, where Mr Skripal and his daughter are believed to have had a drink on Sunday, was also sealed off and remained so today.

The popular city centre pub, currently part way through its 'British pie week' was being searched while a single police officer stood guard at the entrance.

Was Russian spy taken down by VX?Just 10 milligrams of the nerve agent is enough to kill in minutes

Military scientists are desperately trying to identify what was used to strike down Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Poison has typically been Russia's weapon of choice when 'dealing with' perceived traitors.

From poison-tipped umbrellas to radioactive tea, a number of deadly toxins have been used in Russia-linked deaths in the UK.

VX

VX is one of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man. Experts say just 10 milligrams of the nerve agent or a single drop is enough to kill in minutes.

With the texture and feel of engine oil, it can cause convulsions, loss of consciousness, paralysis and respiratory failure in minutes.

It has the texture and feel of engine oil, but its only known use is as a chemical warfare agent.

VX - classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations - was used in the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong UN, at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13. 

SARIN

Sarin – a volatile nerve agent that was initially developed in Germany as a pesticide – is a liquid that is clear, colourless, tasteless and odourless.

People can be exposed to sarin through skin contact, eye contact or by breathing it in through the air or it can be mixed with water or food.

Symptoms of severe exposure to sarin include loss of consciousness, convulsions, paralysis and respiratory failure leading to death.

Other possible poisons: 

THALLIUM

 Dubbed the 'poisoner's poison', Thallium is highly toxic but is tasteless, colourless and odourless and any contact with skin is dangerous.

Thallium (pictured) is highly toxic but is tasteless, colourless and odourless and any contact with skin is dangerous

Thallium, once known as 'Inheritance Powder' because it could easily kill people, is typically found in electronics and was used by Saddam Hussein on dissidents.

It is slow-acting and painful and symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss. However, it is hard to trace and experts at Porton Down science park in Salisbury may never find out what was used.   

RICIN

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans, the same substance used to make castor oil.

If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury.

It can be found as a powder, mist or pellet or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. It is very difficult to trace.

Ricin works by getting inside the body's cells and preventing them from making the proteins they need – and without them, cells die.

Eventually this is harmful to the whole body and can cause death. But the effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether it was inhaled, ingested or injected.

Cold War dissident Georgi Markov was assassinated on the streets of London in 1978 by a Bulgarian secret service agent, who used an umbrella that fired a pellet of ricin into his leg. 

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans (pictured), the same substance used to make castor oil

When inhaled, symptoms include difficulty in breathing, fever, cough, nausea, sweating and tightness in the chest. Death occurs after blood pressure plummets and breathing stops.

When swallowed, ricin causes vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, low blood pressure, seizures, and blood in the urine.

There is no known antidote but treatment includes use of respirators, fluids, flushing the stomach and treating low blood pressure.

POLONIUM-210

The toxin is considered an ideal poison because it is harmless until swallowed with a miniscule amount sufficient to cause a slow, painful and very public death.

However, it is almost impossible to acquire without a nuclear reactor - and then decays within a few months.

The radioactive substance was used to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, perhaps the most high-profile case of fatal poisoning.

Thallium was the deadly poison that investigators originally thought had killed Alexander Litvinenko (pictured) 

It was slipped into a cup of green tea at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair.

Polonium-210 also leaves a radioactive trace, which in the Litvinenko case led investigators to Andrei Lugovoy.

In 2016 a public inquiry concluded that the killing of Mr Litvinenko had 'probably' been carried out with the approval of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

THALLIUM

Thallium was the deadly poison that investigators originally thought had killed Alexander Litvinenko.

Thallium sulphate is colourless, odourless and tasteless salt that is soluble in water, making it an almost ideal poison to use to kill.

Known as the 'poisoner's poison', if ingested, it attacks the nervous system and internal organs and even a dose as small as a gram can cause death.

Other symptoms include hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Within three days, victims can suffer headaches, convulsions, coma, delirium, dementia and even psychosis.

It's believed Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy was poisoned after Gelsemium was slipped into his sorrel soup

GELSEMIUM

Gelsemium is a rare and deadly plant poison which initially causes dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and convulsions.

At larger doses, it causes paralysis of the spinal cord leading to an almost loss of muscle power and ultimately asphyxia.

It's believed Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy was poisoned after the substance was slipped into his sorrel soup.

Police initially thought his death was not suspicious because there was no signs of toxins after he was found dead near his luxury home in Surrey in 2012.

But scientists later found chemical traces of gelsemium in his stomach. An inquest into his death has been adjourned pending further inquiries.

Former Ukranian President Victor Yushchenko suffered facial disfigurement after being given TCDD

CURARE

Curare is a plant extract initially used for poison arrows by South American tribes.

It causes the respiratory muscles to contract, asphyxiating the victim.

Scientists in Russia used curare under Joseph Stalin and American-born Communist spy Isaiah Oggins was executed in 1947 using this drug.

TCDD

This type of dioxin, an ingredient of Agent Orange, was used in the attempted assassination of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in 2004. 

He survived the attack to become his country’s president, but suffered major facial disfigurements.

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Boris Johnson says England could boycott the World Cup in Russia over suspected attempt to poison a former spy

Britain could boycott the World Cup in Russia this summer if the Kremlin is shown to be responsible for a suspected assassination attempt of an ex-spy, Boris Johnson suggested.

The Foreign Secretary said UK representation at the tournament would be 'difficult to see' as he threatened a range of new sanctions over what is suspected to be a bid to kill Sergei Skripal, 66, in Salisbury on Sunday.

Mr Johnson said: 'If things turn out to be as many members suspect that they are... I think we will have to have a serious conversation about our engagement with Russia.

'And for my part I think it will be difficult to see how, thinking ahead to the World Cup this summer, I think it would be difficult to imagine that UK representation at that event could go ahead in the normal way.

'We will certainly have to consider that.' 

Noting that the case has 'echoes' of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident who was fatally poisoned in London in 2006, Mr Johnson told MPs: 'While it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, I can reassure the House that should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then Her Majesty's Government will respond appropriately and robustly.'

Mr Johnson said it was clear that Russia is now 'in many respects a malign and disruptive force and the UK is in the lead across the world in trying to counteract that activity'.

Sources close to Mr Johnson later insisted he was referring to officials and dignitaries attending the tournament and not footballers.

The World Cup begins in Russia in June. England are the only UK team to have qualified to take part.

The Russian Embassy posted a short response to Mr Johnson's address to MPs, saying ironically: 'We are impressed by the statement of the Foreign Secretary in Parliament today. The Foreign Secretary spoke in such a manner as if the investigation was already over and Russia was found responsible for what had happened in Salisbury.'

The statement continued: 'We regret that instead of a proper official clarification on the issue the Foreign Secretary chose to threaten Russia with retribution. Looks like the script of yet another anti-Russian campaign has been already written.'  

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Cancer, car crash and liver failure: Mysterious deaths of family of Russian 'Spy with the Louis Vuitton Handbag'

He was jailed for passing on the identities of Russian secret agents in Europe to MI6

The former Russian double agent who is critically ill in hospital after a suspected poison plot was hit by a double family tragedy within five years, it has emerged.

Sergei Skripal, 66, is fighting for his life at Salisbury District Hospital after being found unconscious with his daughter Yulia, 33, in the city on Sunday.

And it was revealed yesterday how Mr Skripal had suffered two bereavements within just five years when his wife Lyudmila died aged 59 in 2012, before his son Alexandr passed away aged 43 in 2017.

Mystery surrounds the cause of death for both, with his wife's death certificate claiming she died of cancer but neighbours saying it was in a car crash.

It has been recorded that Mrs Skripal, died on October 23, 2012, with her death certificate recording the cause of death as disseminated endometrial carcinoma.

Her daughter Yulia reported the death to Wiltshire Council's register office, but told staff that her father was a retired local government planning officer.

As for Mr Skripal's son, he is said to have been killed in a car crash in St Petersburg last year – but the family's cleaner said he had actually died from liver problems.

The Russian security service (FSB) allege that Col Skripal began to sell information in 1990's right up until 1999 - when he left the special services

In Moscow at the time of his arrest he was mocked as 'the spy with the Louis Vuitton bag' after grainy pictures showed him at an airport on route on one meeting with his handlers

The woman who cleans Mr Skripal's home in Salisbury, who asked not to be named, said yesterday: 'I saw reports on the news that his wife had died in a car crash.

'That is not true, she died of cancer that she had when they moved to England. And his son died of liver problems, so I don't know where the car crash idea came from.'

However, his neighbour Blake Stephens, 21, said earlier of Mr Skripal: 'He used to live with his wife but unfortunately she died in a car accident a while ago.'

But the BBC claimed Alexandr died on holiday in Russia with his girlfriend after being taken to hospital with liver failure, and that his family was suspicious about his death.

Mr Skripal was dramatically exposed as having spied for the British in one of the biggest East-West scandals since the end of the Cold War.

He rose to rank of colonel in the Russian military before becoming a top intelligence officer in the chaotic days after the fall of communism.

But his reputation came crashing down in 2004 when he was accused of passing on the identities of Russian secret agents in Europe to MI6.

By this time he had retired from the military but was said to have used his old contacts to spy for the West.

He was jailed for 13 years in 2006 and was only released in the high-profile spy-swap which involved glamourous Russian agent Anna Chapman, who had been caught spying in the US.

After being debriefed by British security services, he was given a new life living in a £340,000 house in Wiltshire.

At the time of his arrest he was mocked as 'the spy with the Louis Vuitton bag' after grainy pictures showed him with an expensive looking bag at an airport en route on one meeting with his handlers.

The Russian security service (FSB) alleged that Mr Skripal began to sell information in 1990's right up until 1999 - when he left the special services. They say he was paid around $100,000 for his services into his secret account in Spain.

Mr Skripal was turned by British special service until when he was detained for giving the UK top secret information.

The former intelligence officer, now believed to be 66, was convicted of 'high treason in the form of espionage' for his crimes.

He was alleged to have passed intelligence to a so-called 'spy rock' in a Moscow park

Russian authorities claimed agents walked past it transmitting their data via a hand held device

He pleaded guilty at his trial and co-operated with investigators, reports said at the time.

He was stripped of his rank of colonel and his state medals and ordered to spend his prison term in a high-security penal camp.

One of the Russian spies exchanged for Skripal was Anna Chapman (pictured), who was greeted as a hero by the Kremlin

He was sentenced in 2006 and was later pardoned in 2010 when he was one of four prisoners Moscow swapped for spies in the US.

He was released together with the three other individuals serving time in Russian prisons in exchange for ten Russian spies arrested by the FBI.

A year after his release he is believed to have bought a house in Sailsbury.

Ms Chapman was arrested at a New York police department precinct when she turned in a fake passport an undercover FBI agent had given to her.

As the daughter of a Russian diplomat, she became the most recognisable of the ten agents.

Nicknamed 'the spy with the Louis Vuitton bag', Mr Skripal exposed a huge network of Russian military spies working across Europe taking extraordinary risks to pass secrets to MI6.

The FSB caught him passing his intelligence to the infamous MI6 James Bond-style 'spy rock' - a fake stone packed with receiving equipment - in a Moscow park.

Russian secret services exposed the rock in 2006, revealing how agents walked past it transmitting their data to the rock via a hidden hand held device.

One official said after his conviction: 'His activities caused a significant blow to Russia's external security.'

A still from footage of Mr Skripal spying for Britain which was used against him in Russia

Russian loathing for Mr Skripal is highlighted by claims from Russian secret services historian Nikolai Luzan that the double was responsible for disclosing to MI6 the names of around 300 GRU staff members and other 'agents' including those working abroad.

Luzan referred to him Mr Skripal in a 2014 interview as 'this bastard - I'm not scared to use this word'.

'Just imagine what muck this man did to other people' - due to his treachery.

There has been no official confirmation of the 300 figure from the GRU.

State-run TV in Russia even compared him to the legendary Cold War agent Soviet double agent Oleg Penkovsky, who spied for Britain and the United States during the height of the Cold War.

Following his release Col Skripal underwent a debriefing in London following his exchange in the historic spy swap involving femme fatale Anna Chapman

Penvosky was shot by a firing squad in 1963 and is regarded as one of the most effective spies of all time.

Mr Skripal and a woman were found slumped on a bench in a busy shopping centre in Salisbury on Sunday.

He is critically ill along with the woman, 33, after they were both found at The Maltings shopping centre in a case that immediately drew parallels to the poisoning of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Before this he was believed to be living at an address on Christie Miller Road in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

He had been living at the address with his wife Liudmila until she died in recent years.

'Traitors always end in a bad way. Usually from drugs in the street': How ex-KGB chief Putin hinted at the way Russia deals with spies 

Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured today) once said 'traitors always end in a bad way'

Russian president Vladimir Putin once hinted at how his country deals with spies by insisting that 'traitors always end in a bad way'.

The former KGB chief's words are all the more chilling as fears build over a poison plot in Wiltshire against Sergei Skripal, a Russian colonel who spied for MI6.

Among the Russian agents exposed was the red-haired 'femme fatale' Anna Chapman, and Mr Putin said at the time: 'It is a result of betrayal.

'Traitors always end in a bad way. Usually from a drinking habit, or from drugs, right in the street.'

Mr Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in a high-security prison in 2006, before being freed in a 2010 deal which saw ten Russian sleeper agents expelled from the US.

Mr Skripal retired from military intelligence, often known by its Russian-language acronym GRU. He went on to work at the Foreign Ministry until 2003.

He was arrested in 2004 in Moscow and admitted he was recruited by British intelligence in 1995 and had provided information about GRU agents in Europe, for which he was paid more than $100,000.

Mr Skripal was one of four agents pardoned and released by Moscow in what was said at the time to be the biggest spy swap since the Cold War.

He was flown to the UK with another of the men freed by Russia in the exchange - analyst Igor Sutyagin, who was serving a 14-year sentence for spying for the US.

Russian spy Anna Chapman pictured on May 21, 2011 

The spy swap took place on July 9, 2010 on the tarmac at Vienna's airport and a Boeing 767-200 carrying the four agents was understood to have later touched down at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

The returning Russian spies were greeted as heroes in Moscow. Mr Putin, himself a former KGB officer who served in what was then East Germany, sang patriotic songs with them.

But Mr Putin predicted a grim future for the man who had betrayed the Russian spies in the US, saying that he knew both his identity and location.

He said that a 'Mercader has already been sent after him,' referring to Ramon Mercader, the assassin who was sent to kill Leon Trotsky in 1940 in Mexico.

Mr Skripal was cast as a traitor by Moscow at the time of the spy swap. He is thought to have done serious damage to Russian spy networks in Britain and Europe.

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'It bears all the hallmarks of a Russian attack': Senior MP demands new sanctions to the Kremlin's 'soft war' on Britain after suspected spy attack

A senior MP yesterday said a suspected attempt to kill a Russian ex-spy bears 'all the hallmarks' of a Kremlin attack.

Tom Tugendhat said if proven the possible poisoning of Sergei Skripal, 66, would be a new escalation in a 'soft war' by Russia against the UK.

The chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said new sanctions should be imposed against Russia if it was proven the Kremlin ordered the attack.

Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said if proven the possible poisoning of Sergei Skripal, 66, would a new escalation in a 'soft war' against the UK

The warning comes after shadow defence secretary Diane Abbott warned ministers not to allow 'London and the Home Counties to become a kind of killing field for the Russian state'.

British relations with Russia have been chilly since President Vladimir Putin was suspected of personally ordering the attack on Litvinenko.

Former cabinet minister John Whittingdale said it was possible the existing sanctions were failing to deter Russia 'from carrying out further assassinations on British soil'.

The comments came as Boris Johnson pledged to speak with Home Secretary Amber Rudd after calls for a fresh police investigation into 14 deaths in the UK that have been linked to Russia.

Mr Whittingdale, the former culture secretary, told MPs: 'It is almost exactly four years since the annexation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine in Crimea by Russia.

'It is two years since the public inquiry concluded that President Putin almost certainly approved the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

'Is it not clear, therefore, that existing sanctions are failing to deter Russia, possibly even from carrying out further assassinations on British soil.

'And that the time has come to impose far tougher sanctions against targeted individuals associated with President Putin's regime.'

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson yesterday repeated warnings of the military threat from Russia, warning Putin had 'hostile intent' toward Britain.

Skripal who had recently told police he feared for his life, was rushed to hospital after collapsing on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury on Sunday.

He was found with a 33-year-old woman, who is also fighting for her life. She is thought to be a family member.

Health chiefs said the pair had been exposed to an 'unknown substance'.

Mr Tugendhat said that if Russian involvement was proved, the Skripal case would amount to a further salvo in a 'soft war against the UK' conducted by Mr Putin's administration.

'It is too early to say whether it is certain or not, but it certainly bears all the hallmarks of a Russian attack,' Mr Tugendhat said.

'If it is, then I am calling for a whole-of-Government response. Too much of this has been left to the Foreign Office or the Home Office separately.

'What needs to be done is for the whole Government to get involved in responding to what amounts to a soft war against the UK, taking in the cyber-hacking they have done and the various aggressions they have been involved in.'

Mr Tugendhat said that the eventual response to any Russian involvement in the Skripal case could include travel bans, sanctions and the imposition of Magnitsky Sanctions legislation allowing the assets of human rights violators to be frozen in the UK.

Diane Abbott (file image) demanded answers from ministers about an apparent attack on a Russian spy she said had 'striking similarities' to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko

Ms Abbott told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'It's important not to speculate without knowing everything it but it does bear a striking similarity to the death of Litvinenko who was poisoned by the Russian state and before that Markov who was killed bizarrely by somebody stabbing him with an umbrella with poison on the tip.

'That was put to the Russian state and the problem with these things is sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.'

Ms Abbott added: 'I don't like defaulting to a red menace analysis but we can't allow London and the Home Counties to become a kind of killing field for the Russian state.'

Ms Abbott's intervention came as the Government remained tight lipped about the circumstances surrounding Skripal.

Julian Lewis, the chairman of the Commons defence committee, told MailOnline: 'If a second Russian former spy has been targeted in the UK, after the reckless use of polonium to kill Mr Litvinenko, it shows that the Kremlin has not the slightest interest in a positive relationship with the West and has learned nothing from the outrage caused by its previous public act of murder.'

Chairman of the Commons defence committee Julian Lewis (left) told MailOnline a proven second case of assassination on British soil would prove Russia had learned nothing from outrage at the Litvinenko murder, while Labour's Chris Bryant (right) called for a Government statement 

Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Russia, called for a Government minister to come to the despatch box to update the Commons on what is known about the Skripal case.

Mr Bryant said: 'We have got to be a little careful about establishing the facts - and I very much hope a Government minister will come to the chamber later today to explain what we do know - but we know Putin's record of using excessive violence.

'There is a long list of Putin opponents who have been bumped off around the world. The fact that this happens just before presidential elections, I would suspect, is not circumstantial.

'We can't be having Russian operatives bumping people off in the UK. I was very critical of both David Cameron and Theresa May in the 2010 Parliament because they kept refusing to allow a full investigation of the Litvinenko murder. It was years before Theresa May finally allowed one to happen.

'If something similar has occurred in this situation, then we shouldn't let the grass grow under our feet.'

How Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko was killed by polonium-laced tea in a Mayfair hotel

Relations between Britain and Russia have been strained since the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, a killing which a judge said was probably approved by President Vladimir Putin.

The defector died after two agents slipped radioactive polonium 210 into his tea pot at a Mayfair hotel in central London, according to an inquiry headed by former high court judge Sir Robert Owen.

The inquiry found two Russian men - Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun - had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko by putting polonium-210 into his drink at a London hotel, leading to an agonising death.

Alexander Litvinenko died after two agents slipped radioactive polonium 210 into his tea

It said the use of the radioactive substance - which could only have come from a nuclear reactor - was a 'strong indicator' of state involvement and that the two men had probably been acting under the direction of the FSB.

Possible motives included Litvinenko's work for British intelligence agencies, his criticism of the FSB, and his association with other Russian dissidents, while it said there was also a 'personal dimension' to the antagonism between him and Putin. 

International arrest warrants issued for Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun remain in force although Russia continues to refuse their extradition.

In a statement to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, Marina Litvinenko said her husband - who she called Sasha - had been an 'extraordinary man' whose courage in speaking out against the Russian security service, the FSB, had left an enduring legacy.

The Millennium Hotel in Mayfair, where he is said to have been poisoned

While she acknowledged Mr Putin had refused to accept the inquiry's findings, she said it remained open for other world leaders to take action against the Russian state and that she hoped her struggle to find the truth had not been in vain.

'It has taken 10 long years for the truth to be established and for Sasha's dying words that President Putin was responsible for his death to be proved to be true,' she said.

'I know that Mr Putin's Russia does not accept the findings of the British public inquiry and will continue to deny the truth in the face of overwhelming evidence.

'But those findings are now part of history and the rest of the world understands the difference between truth and propaganda. And that is what matters to me.

'What action world leaders will take against the ever vengeful Russian state in these dramatic times remains to be seen. I hope and pray that my struggle has not been in vain.' 

Last year the scandal took a new twist when Scotland Yard detectives who investigated the Litvinenko case revealed they too had been poisoned by the Russians in an extraordinary attempt to thwart the inquiry.

Detective Inspector Brian Tarpey, who flew to Moscow to investigate, says: ‘I remember one evening my officer [a colleague who travelled with him] was complaining of stomach cramp and not being very well.

‘Next morning I accompanied him to the general prosecutor’s office. We were offered tea. I had no hesitation in accepting.

‘After we left, I started to feel a little bit uncomfortable. Not wanting to put too fine a point on it, I had the s***s.

‘I have no doubt in my mind that someone poisoned us with something like gastroenteritis.’  

The inquiry found Andrei Lugovoi (left, in 2007) and Dmitri Kovtun (right, in 2006) - had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko

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A poisoned umbrella tip and radioactive tea: How Russian spies have died in the UK

It was one of the most audacious acts of the Cold War which could have come straight from the pages of a spy novel.

In 1978, Georgi Markov was jabbed with an umbrella which fired a poison pellet into his leg as he crossed Waterloo Bridge in London while he waited for a bus.

He died three days later – and for almost 40 years, mystery has surrounded the whereabouts of his killer. 

Georgi Markov was jabbed with an umbrella which fired a poison pellet into his leg

A replica of the umbrella that a KGB agent used in 1978 to kill the Bulgarian dissident

Ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London in 2006, a killing which a judge said was probably approved by President Vladimir Putin.

The defector died after two agents slipped radioactive polonium 210 into his tea pot at a Mayfair hotel in central London.

The 43-year-old had been an officer with the Federal Security Service (FSB), but he fled to Britain where he became a fierce critic of the Kremlin. 

He died after an agonising six-day battle in hospital.

Ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London in 2006 when a radioactive substance was poured into his tea pot at a Mayfair hotel

Alexander Perepilichnyy, a key witness in a £140million tax fraud investigation, collapsed while jogging outside his £3million mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, in November 2012.

The Russian had ingested gelsemium – a very rare toxic plant found only in China, a coroner heard. 

Tests carried out by leading botanist Professor Monique Simmonds of Kew Gardens found a chemical in Mr Perepilichnyy’s stomach that could come only from a variety of gelsemium – a known method of assassination by Chinese and Russian contract killers.  

Alexander Perepilichnyy collapsed while jogging outside his £3million mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, in November 2012

A radiation expert who investigated the 'assassination' of Alexander Litvinenko was found dead in a mysterious suicide five months after a trip to Russia.

Matthew Puncher, 46, bled to death at his home from multiple stab wounds inflicted by two knives in his home in Drayton, Oxfordshire in May 2016.

A pathologist said he could not 'exclude' the possibility that someone else was involved in the death - but concluded the injuries were self-inflicted. 

Radiation expert Matthew Puncher, who investigated the 'assassination' of Alexander Litvinenko, was found dead in a mysterious suicide in May 2016

Boris Berezovsky, was found dead in his in Berkshire bathroom with a ligature round his neck in March 2013.

His friends in the secret service say he planned to give Putin evidence of a plot involving oligarchs to topple the strongman in a coup. 

Theory has it that the exiled Russian tycoon was slain by Western secret services linked to the plan to overthrow the Kremlin leader. 

A coroner recorded an open verdict saying he either took his own life or he was killed and the scene was staged to look self-inflicted.

Boris Berezovsky, was found dead in his in Berkshire bathroom with a ligature round his neck in March 2013 but the coroner recorded an open verdict 

Bankrupt property tycoon Scot Young was the fifth member of a close circle of friends to die in unusual circumstances.

The 52-year-old suffered fatal injuries after falling from a window on to railings after being hounded over debts by Russian mafia members.  

They had previously dangled him out of a window at the Dorchester Hotel, in Park Lane, threatening to drop him next time if he did not pay up, his close friend alleged. 

Mr Young, who was once worth an estimated £400m, claimed to have lost his fortune when a vast Russian property deal, known as Project Moscow, collapsed in 2006. 

Bankrupt property tycoon Scot Young (pictured right) suffered fatal injuries after falling from a window on to railings after being hounded over debts by Russian mafia members

Meanwhile in 2012, German Gorbuntsov survived despite being shot several times with a sub-machine gun on the Isle of Dogs in East London.

The Russian banker allegedly had evidence relevant to the attempted murder of Russian billionaire Alexander Antonov.

In 2016, former Russian double agent Colonel Alexander Poteyev, who exposed glamour spy Anna Chapman, died in the US.

Mr Poteyev had overseen the Russian sleeper agents in the US as a deputy head of the 'S' department of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.