I wonder what happens to all these diplomatic people returned to their own countries.

For the UK ones it couldn't be worse, a brexit re-education centre the minimum, no more vodka or Russian girls.

For Australian returning diplomats new assignments in cheating in international sport with compulsory ball-tampering re-education.

For US diplomats probably not 're-hired' especially if near pension age, or quite likely they bring your car to the door or car-park attendants.

What happens to the Russian ones? Put their feet up and watch the football, quickly forgotten about but still getting paid, they find you though don't they.

If I was a returning spy I would try for a job with a UK domestic bank, as that's what they do these days.

Not quite what they said.

Porton Down's chief executive Gary Aitkenhead dismissed Russian claims it might have come from the UK military laboratory.

"We have not identified the precise source, but we have provided the scientific info to [the] government who have then used a number of other sources to piece together the conclusions," Mr Aitkenhead said.

"It is our job to provide the scientific evidence of what this particular nerve agent is - we identified that it is from this particular family and that it is a military grade, but it is not our job to say where it was manufactured."

One more point

The west always needs an enemy.

Edited by .TUX. (03 Apr 2018 9.31pm)

Buy Litecoin.

Anyone who seriously doubts that Russia isn't responsible for this is one sandwich short of a picnic.

Of course, those who tend to believe in conspiracies will do what they always do.

I can think of only one reason that could possibly benefit another agency for doing this and it's highly unlikely.

Edited by Stirlingsays (04 Apr 2018 6.06am)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

It's well suspected that Russian embassies are conduits for effective and disruptive intelligence work in western countries.

The murder of a former agent...or in this case currently 'attempted' and then blaming it on Russia would be a good excuse for disrupting these networks by then expelling its facilitators.

It isn't likely.....Amber Rudd isn't M and the principle of Occam's razor is far more sensible. Another country doing the murder wouldn't really make much sense as only the US and the UK expelled significant numbers.

Especially when seen in the light of how Putin's Russia operates. The track record of what happens to those that cross the Russia state isn't hard to observe for those willing to observe it.

Edited by Stirlingsays (04 Apr 2018 7.43am)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

So Jeremy Corbyn's request for a measured, evidence-based response was in fact exactly what was needed...