right. gets to be the one. with the roots to. be. welcomed back to the u.k. has called for an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council to discuss the diplomatic standoff between london and moscow the british prime minister is expected to announce reprisals against russia within the next hour moscow earlier rejected to resume may's midnight ultimatum to answer questions about the nerve agent used to poison a former double agent and his daughter the kremlin has again reasserted that it had nothing to do with the incident and there britons are yet to respond to its offer

to help with the investigation which is still ongoing but the authorities believe. his daughter yulia would deliberately targeted with a nerve agent first produced in the soviet union traces of the substance were detected at a restaurant where the two had been eating before they were taken ill and found unconscious on a nearby park bench artie's an associate churkin to have the latest. certainly seeing the spy saga reach a crescendo as the british prime minister theresa may is expected to announce the measures that the u.k. plans to take following what's seen over here in westminster as russia's noncompliance to britain's ultimatum of course with the deadline of midnight having passed and russia having rejected the ultimatum put forward by britain of basically coming forward and admitting guilt in the poisoning of sergei screwball russia has said it has nothing to do with this case we've heard from russian foreign minister

sergei lavrov say that russia hasn't even received any official request or notice from london and that it would reply to any such official notice within ten days but that did not happen and he's talked about motives of russia as well saying it hadn't and it wouldn't have a motive in this case let's take a listen. sure. both the russians and the international media have been saying that russia did not have a motive for the explosion in that. among those who want to continue a russophobe campaign in every possible sphere did well what kind of steps specifically britain takes next is crucial in these developments we do know that to resign may will shortly speak and make those announcements so certainly a lot is at stake with this story having snowballed in just over a week from what could have been a local incident to

a huge international diplomatic standoff for more on that let's now go to our report on sunday march fourth a couple are found slumped on a bench and souls bury reporters arrive at the scene for what was thought to be a local incident but soon after a global media frenzy unravels with accusations allegations and speculation moving at the speed of light exposure to an unknown substance and her comparisons to the two thousand and six death of alexander litvinenko march sixth the u.k.'s counterterrorism police take control of the investigation the u.k. foreign secretary boris johnson has this to say while it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation i can reassure the house that should evidence emerged that implies state responsibility then the majesty's government will respond appropriately and robustly. russia says it has no information and offers to help in any way it can these headlines leave little to the imagination long before any conclusions are drawn russia is being vilified the dots have been connected in the

eyes of the world press details of the kind of punishment russia could face range from diplomatic expulsions to measures connected to the world cup to be held in russia the summer on march twelfth amidst a media hype and under pressure to take a tough stance from her government british prime minister theresa may is expected to provide clarity the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against. the script and ultimatum is given to russia come clean or else while russia asks for proof evidence and facts we are of course getting many questions regarding how and where that move i did was actually with the state i called home and told that this is what we are not declaring a person of interest or a suspect of the story in a court of law this would at least mean a time out in the world of political game play apparently means very little and associate you're going to r.t. london security analyst and former u.k.

counterterrorism officer charles bridge believes it's far too early to attribute blame for the poisoning. according to the legal system for example in the u.k. if it was a person being accused of a crime they would be entitled to know what the evidence is against them and of course to be out to use their own scientists or it came to a court of law to challenge that evidence perhaps to show that actually this material this a chemical agent could have been produced elsewhere for example we know that. it's not in the ninety's the united states itself was helping to clean up plants not in russia but in his back is thrown at this material was allegedly produced and so that's just an example of how this material could have come from anywhere in fact that there are so many very many questions still outstanding over this matter and of course it's massively permit your for the government to be saying to rush or any suspect you've got to forty eight hours to respond or else we're going to take

action in other words take some punishment against you and i can say sions that russia is highly likely to have been behind the poisoning of the foremost by new scenes that are a series of phrases to use if you know exactly confident in the evidence that happened. the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against said hey andrew the script so how likely is it the twenty eight hundred eleven is going to be compromised by russia it's sadly likely that they will be doing something we just don't know how much and when whether. in the high confidence assessment that was released this past october the intelligence community made very clear that this was activity directed by the highest levels of the russian government. what russia was doing when it khan comes to slide wolf and not only that into ferrets not proven in the american presidential campaign

probably in the referendum last year we did have the evidence for that. the conclusion that the russian state was probably involved in the merger with mr litvinenko is deeply disturbing. i want to be us now where donald trump has fired his secretary of state rep tell us and appointing incumbent cia director mike pump a.o. to the position instead he announced the surprise reshuffle on twitter the president later explained his decision to reporters saying he and to listen did not see eye to eye on a number of issues. aren't talking about the problem so. we got along quite well but we disagreed i think when you look at the run you know i think

it's terrible i guess it was ok i wanted to record something. else a little bit different so we were really think you. might like somebody or we have a very similar story from. the well read the first book i like rex a lot really appreciate him it doesn't really. help me think the record over a period. where most that tell us and was heading for the door have been circulating for months in the news with reports of disagreements with the president rex tillerson will remain in the job until the end of the month and the millionaire businessman will then affectively step away from politics and he goes donald has more now on mike pompei oh the new face of american diplomacy and also his successor at the cia do you know how to spell. bork's nesting in washington might

be the new diplomat in chief of the iron fist to lead america's state department he's had the president under his spell for a while already the to see eye to eye on normal most everything the issue that sunk to listen diplomatic career. was. very good for whatever. whatever was. trump and share common spite towards iran and north korea both of them like to call torture enhanced interrogation and they are fans of the n.s.a.'s warrantless bulk data collection where the stand on whistleblowers is one of the few things that trump and don't pay or don't quite agree on well they have to differ on something. it's time to call out wiki leaks for what it really is a non-state hostile intelligence service but abetted by state actors like russia. i

can't think of a thing that has put america in a better position as a result of this deal we're a year out from the agreement and every has single action the iranians have taken has been bolder and starker than the ones they took before the agreement. a very real danger. i hardly ever escape a day at the white house without the president asking me about north korea and how it is that the united states is responding to that threat it's very much at the top of his mind they are ever closer to having the capacity to hold america risk with a nuclear weapon this is the man elevated to america's top diplomat and descending with him is his former deputy gina hospital will be the first woman to lead the cia with her boss is simple. ok and without taking you live to westminster where the british prime minister is currently addressing parliament and possibly outlining the reply is it this. prizes against russia let's take

a lesson or poisoned with an chock a military grade nerve agent developed by russia based on this capability combined with their record of conducting state sponsored assassinations including against former intelligence officers whom they regard as legitimate targets the u.k. government concluded that it was highly likely that russia was responsible for this reckless and despicable act and there were only two plausible explanations either this was a direct attack by the russian state against our country or conceivably the russian government could have lost control of a military grade nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others mr speaker it was right to offer russia the opportunity to provide an explanation but their response has demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events. they have provided no credible explanation that they that could suggest they lost control of their nerve agent no explanation as to how this agent came to be used in

the united kingdom no explanation as to why russia has an undeclared chemical weapons program in contravention of international law. instead they have treated the use of a military grade nerve agent in europe with sarcasm content and defiance. so mr speaker there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of mr script and his daughter and for threatening the lives of other british citizens in salzburg including detective sergeant nick bailey this represents an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the united kingdom. and as i set out on monday it has taken place against the backdrop of a well established pattern of russian state aggression across europe and beyond is must therefore be met with a full and. response beyond the actions we have already taken since the murder of

mr litvinenko and to counter this pattern of russian aggression elsewhere. as the discussion in this house on monday made clear it is essential that we now come together with our allies to defend our security to stand up for our values and to send a clear message to those who would seek to undermine them. this morning i chaired a further meeting of the national security council where we agreed immediate actions to dismantle the russian espionage network in the u.k. urgent work to develop new powers to tackle all forms of hostile state activity and to ensure that those seeking to carry out such activity cannot enter the u.k. and additional steps to suspend all planned high level contacts between the united kingdom and the russian federation. let me start with the immediate actions mr speaker the house will recall that following the murder of mr litvinenko the u.k.

expelled for diplomats. under the vienna convention the united kingdom will now expel twenty three russian diplomats who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers they have just one week to leave this will be the single biggest expulsion of over thirty years and it reflects the fact that this is not the first time that the russian state has acted against our country through these expulsions we will fundamentally degrade russian intelligence capability in the u.k. for years to come and if they seek to rebuild it we will prevent them from doing so second we will urge and develop proposals for new legislative powers to harden our defenses against all forms of hostile state activity this will include the addition of the targeted power to detain those suspected of hostile state activity to the u.k. border this power is currently only permitted in relation to those suspected of to . rozum and i have asked the home secretary to consider whether there is

a need for new counterespionage powers to clamp down on the full spectrum of hostile activities of foreign agents in our country. mr speaker as i set out on monday we will also table a government amendment to the sanctions bill to strengthen our powers to impose sanctions in response to the violation of human rights in doing so we will play our part in an international effort to punish those responsible for the sorts of abuses suffered by said magnitsky. and i hope as with all the measures i am setting out today that this will command across party support. mr speaker we will also make full use of existing powers to enhance our efforts to monitor and track the intentions of those traveling to the u.k. who could be engaged in activity that threatens the security of the u.k. and of our of our allies so we will increase checks on private flights customs and freight we will freeze russian state assets wherever we have the evidence that they

may be used to threaten the life or property of u.k. nationals or residence and led by the national crime agency we will continue to bring all the capabilities of u.k. law enforcement to bear it get serious criminals and corrupt any there is no place for these people or their money in our country. mr speaker let me be clear while our response must be robust it must also remain true to arthel use as a liberal democracy that believes in the rule of law. many russians have made this country their home abide by our laws and make an important contribution to our country which we must continue to welcome but to those who seek to do us harm my message is simple you are not welcome here. this is because let me turn to our bilateral relationship as i said on monday we have had a very simple approach to russia engage but be aware and i continue to believe it is a new. not in our national interest to break off all dialogue between the united kingdom

and the russian federation but in the aftermath of this appalling act against our country this relationship cannot be the same so we will suspend all planned high level bilateral contacts between the united kingdom and the russian federation this includes revoking the invitation to foreign minister lavrov to pay a reciprocal visit to the u.k. and confirming they will be no attendance by ministers or indeed members of the royal family at this summer's world cup in russia finally mr speaker we will deploy a range of tools from across the full breadth of our national security apparatus in order to counter the threats of hostile state activity while i have set out some of these measures today members on all sides will understand that there are some that cannot be shared publicly for reasons of national security and of course there are other measures we stand ready to deploy at any time should we face further russian provocation. this is because none of the actions we take are intended to damage

legitimate activity or prevent contacts between our populations we have no disagreement with the people of russia who have been responsible for so many great achievements throughout their history many of us looked at a post soviet russia with hope we wanted a better relationship and it is tragic that president putin has chosen to act in this way. but we will not tolerate the threat to life of british people and others on british soil from the russian government nor will we tolerate such a flagrant breach of russia's international obligations mr speaker as i said out on monday the united kingdom is not stand alone in confronting russian aggression in the last twenty four hours i have spoken to president trump chancellor merkel and president. we have agreed to cooperate closely in responding to this barbaric act and to coordinate our efforts to stand up to the rules based international all. which russia seeks to undermine i will also speak to other allies and partners in

the coming days and i welcome the strong expressions of support from nato and from partners across the european union and beyond. later today in new york the u.n. security council will hold open consultations where we will be pushing for past international response we have also notified the organization for the production of chemical weapons about russia's use of this nerve agent and we are working with the police to enable the o.p.c. w. to independently verify our analysis. this is because this was not just an act of attempted murder in salzburg not just an act against the u.k. it is an affront to the prophet bishan on the use of chemical weapons and it is an affront to the rules based system on watch which we and our international partners depend we will work with our allies and partners to confront such actions wherever they threaten our security at home and abroad and i commend this statement to the

house yeah. thank you mr speaker i would like to thank the prime minister for advance site of her statements and their echo absolutely her words about the service of our emergency and public services the attack in solsbury was an appalling act of violence nerve agents are abominable if used in any war it is utterly reckless to use them in a civilian environment this is attack in britain has concerned our allies in the european union nato and the u.n. and their words of solidarity of strength and opposition diplomatically our response as a country must be guided by the rule of law support for international agreements and respect for human rights so when it comes to the use of chemical weapons on british soil it is essential that the government works. with the united nations to

strength them its chemical weapons monitoring system and involves the office of the prevailing prohibition of chemical weapons the prime minister said on monday either this was a direct attack by the russian states or the russian government lost control of their potentially catastrophic a damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get in the hands of others. our response must be both decisive and proportionate and based on clear evidence if the government believes that it is still a possibility that russia negligently lost control of a military grade nerve agent what action is being taken through the o.p.c. w. with our allies by welcome the fact the police are working with the o.p.c. w. . and has the prime minister taken the necessary steps under the chemical weapons convention to make a formal request for evidence from the russian government under article nine point

two. how has she responded to the russian government's request for a sample of the agent used in the soulsby attack to run its own tests. has a high resolution trace analysis been run on a sample of the nerve agent and has that revealed any evidence as to the location of its production all the identity of its perpetrators and can the prime minister update the house on what conversations if any she has had with the russian government and while. and while suspending planned high level contacts does the prime minister agree that it is essential to maintain a robust dialogue with russia. in the interests of our own and wider international security with many. countries mr speaker speaking out.

speaking out alongside us the circumstances to mond that we build an international consensus to address the use of chemical weapons we should our international allies to join us and call on russia to reveal without delay full details of its chemical weapons program to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. it is as we only strangers have expressed before a matter of huge regret that our country's diplomatic capacity has been stripped back with cuts of twenty five percent in the last five years. it is mr speaker. it is mr speaker. the right honorable gentleman must be heard will be

adequate opportunity for colleagues on both sides of the house to put questions members must be her germy go up and i couldn't understand a word of what the foreign secretary just said mr speak about his behavior demeans his office i. was. his in a moment. it is in moment such is the case that governments realize how vital strong diplomacy and political pressure are for our security and national interest the measures we take have to be effective not just for the long term security of our citizens but secure a world free of chemical weapons so can the prime minister outline what discussions she has had with our partners in the european union nato and the un and what willingness the was to take multilateral action while the. poisonings mr

speaker of circuit and usually a screen confronting is today what efforts are being made by the government to reassess the death of mrs cripples daughter nude miller who died in two thousand and twelve and the deaths of his eldest brother and son who have both died in the past two years we were due to speak out against the abuse of human rights by the putin government and its supporters both at home and abroad and i join many others in this house in paying tribute to the many campaigners in russia for human rights and justice and democracy in that country and mr speaker. and mr speaker we must do more to address the dangers posed by the state's relationship with unofficial mafia like groups and corrupt oligarchs we must also we must also expose the flows of ill gotten cash between the russian states and

billionaires who become stupendously rich by looting their country and subsequently used london to protect their wealth we welcome the prime ministers to statement today clearly committing to support the magnitsky amendments and implementing them as soon as possible as we on this side have long pushed for mr speaker yesterday cough a russian exile who was close friends with the late oligarch boris berezovsky was found dead in his london home what reassurance country give to citizens of russian origin living in britain that they are safe here mr speaker the events in salzburg earlier this month are a bum nable and have been rightly condemned right across the house britain has to build britain has to build a consensus with our allies and we support the prime minister in. mrs briggs your we support the prime minister in taking multilateral action and

firm action to ensure we strengthen the chemical weapons convention to ensure that this dreadful appalling act which we totally condemn never happens again in our country. the russian one gentleman raised. the right honorable gentleman raised a number of questions around the nerve agents that he had been used he asked if we we were putting together an international coalition to call on russia to reveal the details of its chemical weapons program to the o.p.c. w. that is indeed what we did we gave the russian government the opportunity through the day march that my russian befriend the foreign secretary delivered to the russian ambassador here in london earlier this week to do just that they have not done so. and it is he's raised

a number of questions he asked about the corrupt elites and money going through london as i said in my statement led by the national crime agency we will continue to bring all the capabilities of u.k. law enforcement to bear against serious criminals and corrupt police there is no place for these people all their money in our country and that work is ongoing he talked about getting an international consensus to get out as as i have said i've spoken to chancellor merkel to president trump to president macron others have also expressed their support again stoltenberg the nato secretary general said we stand in solidarity with our allies in the united kingdom and those responsible for those both those who committed the crime and those who ordered it must face appropriately serious consequences the nato council has expressed deep concern at the first offensive use of a nerve agent on alliance territory since nato is foundation and allies agree the. it was a clear breach of international norms and agreements and donald told the president

of the e.u. council said i expressed my full solidarity with pm theresa may in the face of the brutal attack inspired most likely by moscow i'm ready to put the issue on next week's european council so we will we will be doing that. but i say to the right honorable gentleman this is not a question of our diplomacy of what diplomatic support we have around the world this is a question of the culpability of the russian state. and he said that we should be trying to build a consensus it was clear it's clear from the conversations i've had with our allies that we have a consensus with our own eyes it was clear from the remarks that were made by pat benches across the whole of this house on monday that there is a consensus across the butt benches of this house. i am only sorry that the

consensus does not go as far as the right honorable gentleman. i. could do could have taken the opportunity as the u.k. government has done to condemn the culprit in the sea of the russian. troops to carry. out speaker it it seems to me without any access to close information that the choice of this particularly bizarre and dreadful way of killing an individual is a deliberate choice by the russian government to put their signature on you know if you were killing so that other defectors are left no doubt they would use the

russian government.