British Security Minister Ben Wallace said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "ultimate" responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England in March.

London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence for using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern English city of Salisbury.

Asked if Putin had responsibility, Wallace said: "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence."

He told BBC radio: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue.

"It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office."

Britain has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the March 4 attack, sparking furious denials.

In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind. The United States also imposed fresh sanctions over the attack.

The Skripals survived the poisoning but remnants of Novichok found in a fake perfume bottle were picked up by a local man weeks later and given to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died.

British prosecutors said Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon.

They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair. </s> Vladimir Putin bears "ultimate responsibility" for the Salisbury Novichok attack, the security minister has said.

Ben Wallace said the Russian President's government "controls, funds and directs" the GRU intelligence service, which the UK government has blamed for the nerve agent poisoning.

In comments that go further than Prime Minister Theresa May, who declined to name Putin in the Commons on Wednesday, he said: "Ultimately, of course he's responsible - he's the leader of the state."

British and Russian officials will come face-to-face on Thursday as the UN Security Council discusses the Salisbury attack hours after Mrs May said that Moscow agents were behind the deadly poisoning. </s> LONDON — Britain’s security minister says Russian President Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for the Novichok nerve agent attack carried out in England.

Ben Wallace told the BBC on Thursday that Putin and his government “controls, funds and directs the military intelligence” unit known as the GRU that Britain believes used Novichok to try to kill ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Britain plans to press its case against Russia in the U.N. Security Council Thursday. Many Western countries have already imposed sanctions on Russia because of the attack.

Walls said the GRU is directly linked to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the Kremlin and Putin’s office.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges against two suspected Russian agents in the March 4 attack on the Skripals in the city of Salisbury.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Vladimir Putin is ultimately responsible for the Salisbury nerve agent attack that left three people fighting for their life and killed an innocent mother, a Government minister has told ITV News. Security Minister Ben Wallace says that while Russia's intelligence service carried out the attack, it is President Putin who is "ultimately responsible for his government's actions". He added: "It is safe to say that it was not a freelance operation by the GRU or operatives or anything else, it was clearly supported by the wider Russian state." He went on to criticise the Russian intelligence service, saying the failed operation proves "the GRU can't really run a bath". The Kremlin has responded to the allegations it was behind the attack, saying it will not investigate the two men named as suspects. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said on that Theresa May’s accusations are "unacceptable" and that "no one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning. Mr Peskov added Russia "has no reasons" to investigate the two individuals charged on Wednesday because Britain has not asked for legal assistance on the case.

It comes as the UN Security Council waits to discuss the attack, a meeting where British and Russian officials will come face-to-face. The UK will brief the council on evidence relating to the Russian suspects, hours after Theresa May said the Moscow agents were behind the deadly poisoning. Police and prosecutors announced on Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge the men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, over the poisoning in March. The Prime Minister told MPs it was carried out by two Russian spies and sanctioned at a “senior level” by Vladimir Putin’s regime. She told the Commons investigations have concluded that the two suspects are members of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, and it was not a “rogue operation”. Commenting on the failed assassination attempt that resulted in the death of an innocent mother, Mr Wallace said it was a "proper planned deliberate assault carried out by a couple of duffers".

He added: "If it wasn't so tragic, the death of Dawn Sturgess, it would be almost comical, they were so reckless. "Their amateurism endangered the lives of Britons, casting aside Novichok nerve agent recklessly put at risk and did ultimately lead to the death of a British citizen." As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will be represented at Thursday’s meeting – called by Britain to update members on progress in the Salisbury investigation – alongside UK allies such as the US and France.

Australia on Thursday said it was in “lock step” with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account over the “heinous” attack, although it is not currently a council member. Mrs May did not explicitly blame the Kremlin for authorising the attempted assassination, although senior Conservatives directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving the operation.

Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said there was “no doubt it was state ordered and President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act”. The charge d’affaires at Russia’s London embassy was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down by an official following Mrs May’s statement. The PM told MPs the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to “counter the threat posed by the GRU”.

While the suspects have been named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Neil Basu said it is likely they were travelling under fake aliases. The pair, believed to be aged around 40, are thought to be officers for the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU. The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, considered a threat to British citizens and allies.. The Prime Minister claimed the GRU was ordered by a member of the Russian state to send officers to the UK to carry out the attack. The two suspects spent two days in the UK before arriving back in Moscow.

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March. The alleged perpetrators were identified in a dramatic joint police and Crown Prosecution Service press conference. Detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names. Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol. Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal’s Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on Sunday March 4. </s> Britain’s security minister says Russian President Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for the Novichok nerve agent attack carried out in England.

Ben Wallace told the BBC on Thursday that Putin and his government “controls, funds and directs the military intelligence” unit known as the GRU that Britain believes used Novichok to try to kill ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

READ MORE: Britain charges 2 Russians over nerve agent poisoning on ex-spy

Britain plans to press its case against Russia in the U.N. Security Council Thursday. Many Western countries have already imposed sanctions on Russia because of the attack.

Walls said the GRU is directly linked to Russia’s Defence Ministry, the Kremlin and Putin’s office.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges against two suspected Russian agents in the March 4 attack on the Skripals in the city of Salisbury. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption On the trail of Russians Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who UK police carried out a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March 2018

Vladimir Putin must take responsibility for the Salisbury Novichok attack, UK security minister Ben Wallace has said.

Mr Wallace told the BBC "ultimately, of course", Russia's president was behind the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in March.

The Kremlin, which denies involvement, said it was "unacceptable" to make accusations against the leadership.

The UK has named two men believed to be from Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, as the main suspects.

Theresa May told the Commons on Wednesday that the suspects had entered the UK on Russian passports using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

She said the poisoning was "not a rogue operation" and was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with Novichok on 4 March. Det Sgt Nick Bailey also fell ill after responding to the incident in Salisbury.

Prosecutors say there is sufficient evidence to charge the two men, and UK officials are due to brief the UN Security Council on the investigation on Thursday.

Police have also linked the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on 30 June in Amesbury, that led to the death of 44-year-old mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess.

Meeting with the UN

Britain called Thursday's meeting of the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, along with China and UK allies the US and France.

Mr Wallace said the UK must use the meeting to "maintain the pressure, to say the behaviour we have seen is totally unacceptable".

He said Mr Putin's government "controls, funds and directs the military intelligence - that's the GRU", adding that nobody could say the Russian leader was "not in control of his state".

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said that alongside the meeting, it was thought there would be less visible activity including covert work by British intelligence to disrupt the GRU.

Mrs May has also said Britain will push for the EU to agree new sanctions against Russia.

Ahead of the UN meeting, Australia said it was "in lock step with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account" over the "dangerous and deliberate act".

What might the UK do to disrupt the GRU?

Analysis by BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera

The most effective measure, officials claim, may have already been taken in expelling suspected Russian intelligence officers in the UK and from allied countries.

Names will also be shared to prevent them being posted to each other's nations.

There will be the attempt to use publicity and exposure to make it harder for its officers to travel and operate.

Other measures against Russia more generally, it is hoped, might also push the Kremlin to restrain the GRU.

Finally, there will be a more clandestine element.

This is unlikely to mean "cyber-war", rather it will be attempts to disrupt the GRU's own cyber-operations to try to make its life harder.

Police appeal

Image copyright Metropolitan Police Image caption In the evening of 4 March, CCTV showed the pair at Heathrow Airport, where they were to board a flight to Moscow

Police are asking the public for information about a suitcase seen in the CCTV image of the two suspects at Heathrow Airport on Sunday 4 March, before they flew to Moscow.

In the image, Mr Petrov can be seen pushing a hard dark-coloured wheelie suitcase with a green stripe of the size that can fit into hand luggage lockers.

It does not appear that he arrived in the country with the suitcase.

Image copyright Metropolitan Police Image caption The pair are seen in the centre of Salisbury heading towards the train station

Counter terrorism officers are also interested in any information the public can give them about the grey and olive backpack that Mr Petrov and Mr Boshirov were both seen wearing at different times on the Sunday.

Moscow reaction: 'Go to hell'

By BBC Monitoring

Responding to the fresh accusations, the Kremlin's media machine resorted to its usual tactic: a combination of denials and sarcasm.

"Don't laugh," said a talk-show host on state TV, delivering the latest news from London.

The foreign ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, put in an appearance herself to accuse the UK of fabricating the Skripal case. "This whole story was created to punish Russia... to introduce sanctions," she said on Rossiya 1 TV.

"A detective story" and "an absurd political thriller" were some of the epithets used by Russian news bulletins, which also claimed that Britain's allegations were not backed up by a shred of evidence.

At the same time, they dismissed the suspects' photographs released by London as crude fakery.

"Put evidence on the table or go to hell," said one commentator on Russian state TV.

The suspects' movements

Image copyright Metropolitan Police Image caption Police released CCTV showing the two men arriving at Gatwick Airport on 2 March

Image copyright Metropolitan Police Image caption They were seen arriving at Salisbury station the following day for what officers said was reconnaissance

The Metropolitan Police said the two men arrived at Gatwick Airport from Moscow on 2 March and stayed at the City Stay Hotel in Bow Road, east London.

On 4 March they travelled to Salisbury - having also visited for reconnaissance the previous day - where Mr Skripal's front door was contaminated with Novichok.

Image caption Yulia and Sergei Skripal fell ill after Mr Skripal's front door was sprayed with Novichok

Officers believe a modified perfume bottle was used to spray the door.

The pair flew from Heathrow to Moscow later that night.

Image copyright PA Image caption The hotel in east London, where police say Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov stayed before they travelled to Salisbury, is "open for business as usual"

While traces of Novichok were found in the London hotel room, police said there was no risk to other guests who were staying at the hotel at the time.

Officers want to hear from anyone who was a guest there from 4 March to 4 May.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Petrov and Boshirov should be charged with offences including conspiracy to murder; attempted murder and the use and possession of Novichok contrary to the Chemical Weapons Act.

However, it is not applying to Russia for the extradition of the two men, because Russia does not extradite its nationals.

But a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained in case the pair travel to the EU.

Amesbury poisoning

Image copyright Facebook Image caption Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley were poisoned by Novichok

Police said Ms Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley were later exposed to Novichok in Amesbury, near Salisbury, after handling a contaminated container, labelled as Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume.

Mr Rowley told police he found the box containing the small bottle and an applicator - all found to be counterfeit - in a charity bin.

He tried to put the two parts together and got some of the contents on himself. His partner Ms Sturgess applied some of the contents to her wrists and became unwell.

The bottle, with a modified nozzle, had contained a "significant amount" of Novichok, Scotland Yard said.

Image copyright AFP/Met Police Image caption The counterfeit perfume bottle recovered from Mr Rowley's home and the box police say it came in.

The charges Petrov and Boshirov would face currently relate only to the Salisbury attack. Police said officers are continuing to work with the Crown Prosecution Service on the Amesbury incident. </s> The security minister Ben Wallace has said that the Russian president Vladimir Putin is “ultimately responsible” for the deadly Salisbury nerve agent attack as a result of his firm grip on the Russian state.

His remarks are the furthest the British government has gone yet in attributing direct blame on Putin for the attempt by two Russian military intelligence officers to murder Sergei and Yulia Skripal with the military grade nerve agent in March.

Britain will seek to intensify diplomatic pressure on the Kremlin by laying out the case against Moscow at the United Nations security council, of which Russia is a member, on Thursday.

Theresa May did not explicitly blame Putin for authorising the attempted assassination, which resulted in the death of a British woman, when she addressed the Commons in a special statement on Monday, although she pointed the finger at the Kremlin.

The prime minister did, however, reveal the two suspects who flew into Britain with the novichok were officers in the GRU, Russian military intelligence, as police laid out a compelling trail showing how the suspects travelled from Moscow to London and then on to Salisbury, featuring numerous CCTV images and supporting detail.

Wallace told BBC Radio 4, however, that it was clear Putin held responsibility. He said: “Ultimately he does, in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government which controls funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence. I don’t think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn’t in control of his state.”

He added: “The GRU is without doubt not rogue. It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, to the Kremlin and the president’s office. Of course he’s responsible, he’s leader of the state.”

Senior Conservatives have already directly accused Putin of approving the operation.

The Commons foreign affairs committee chairman, Tom Tugendhat, said there was "no doubt” it was state ordered and that Putin bore responsibility for a “war-like act".

In the Commons on Tuesday, May told MPs: “The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command. So this was not a rogue operation. It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state.” But she rejected the invitation to name Putin directly.

UK officials will come face to face with their Russian counterparts for the first time since the statement as they brief the UN security council on the two men suspected of the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

There is also likely to be less visible activity including covert work by British intelligence to try to disrupt the activities of the Russian military intelligence agency, including in cyberspace.

Wallace, however, insisted that any UK retaliation would be “in our way” within the rule of law rather than “thuggish, destructive and aggressive” tactics he said had been adopted by the Russians. "We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way,” he said.

He claimed that the British were making “significant progress” in the fight against illicit Russian money coming into the UK. The government will also push for the EU to agree new sanctions against Russia.

Ahead of the UN meeting, Australia, a close security partner, said it was in “lock step” with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account over the “|dangerous and deliberate” attack. </s> The U.K. will take measures to “maintain the pressure on Russia,” Britain’s security minister said Thursday, after British intelligence services found the suspects in the nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in Salisbury were employed directly by the Russia state.

“We retaliate in our way, we’re not the Russians,” Security Minister Ben Wallace told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today Programme on Thursday, adding that countermeasures would take place “both in the overt and covert space, within the rule of law.”

His comments come after Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday blamed the Russian military for coordinating and authorizing the “barbaric” chemical weapons attack on former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March, saying the suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence agency GRU.

“I’m afraid we can’t really get into the intelligence,” Wallace said, citing confidentiality. He stressed, however, that GRU would not go “rogue” and likely received its orders from senior members of the Russian state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added, “takes pride in surrounding himself with former intelligence officers.” Wallace remarked that Putin’s government also directs funds to military intelligence, saying the Russian leader “bears responsibility” for the attack.

The U.K. will also take diplomatic measures against Russia, by making its case for sanctions to the United Nations and pursuing European chemical sanctions mechanisms, according to Wallace.

Asked about the possibility of enforcing financial sanctions on Russian oligarchs and government officials, as the United States has done, Wallace said the U.K. lacks such unilateral power “as long as we’re a member of the European Union.”

“At the very least, we need to maintain the pressure,” he said.

Read this next: ‘It’s open season on the president’: Anonymous op-ed unleashes fresh West Wing meltdown </s> Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A day after two Russians were charged in the case, the Kremlin on Thursday denied having anything to do with the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

British prosecutors charged the pair with attempted murder and use of novichok, a banned Soviet-era nerve agent.

Officials said the suspects, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, fled Britain and returned to Russia, but could be arrested if they enter any European Union country. Russia will not extradite its own nationals.

The United States, France, Germany and Canada sided with their British allies, saying the Russian government "almost certainly" approved Skripal's poisoning.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said it was "not a rogue operation" and "almost certainly" approved by senior Russian leadership.

The countries released a joint statement that said, "We the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, reiterate our outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent, known as novichok, in Salisbury on March 4."

Novichok is banned by the Chemical Weapons Act.

The statement went on to say they believe Petrov and Boshirov are Russian intelligence officers working for the GRU.

"We again say that neither the upper leadership, nor the leadership a rank lower or any official representatives had or have anything to do with the events in Salisbury," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call. "Any suggestions of this kind or accusations, I repeat, are unacceptable." </s> Experts in hazmat suits next to a tent covering a bench in The Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury

A UK bid to seek the extradition of two Russians over the novichok attacks is not as advanced as reports claim, Sky News understands.

The Guardian newspaper earlier said the government will make the bid to Moscow.

Sky sources have confirmed the central premise of the story is correct - but say proceedings are not as advanced as the reports suggest.

Russia's embassy in London says they have not yet received any extradition requests over allegations any of its citizens were involved in the novichok poisonings.

Last month, reports emerged suggesting police had two names it had linked with the attacks - but these were dismissed as "speculation".

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Now, Russia has called reports of extradition requests "bogus".

Image: Sergei and Yulia Skripal were attacked with novichok and found slumped on a bench in Salisbury in March

Former double agent Sergei Skirpal and his daughter Yulia were in intensive care for several weeks after being poisoned with the chemical substance at his home in Salisbury in March.

They were found in a serious condition on a bench in The Maltings shopping centre, and the discovery of the substance sparked a city-wide investigation with police having to cordon off large areas, including where they had eaten dinner that evening.

:: How Sergei and Yulia Skripal survived the novichok attack

Three months later, Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after they came into contact with the substance, which was found in a sealed perfume bottle.

Image: Dawn Sturgess died of novichok poisoning last month

They came across the substance in Amesbury, about eight miles away from Salisbury.

Ms Sturgess died after being exposed to 10 times the amount of nerve agent the Skripals came into contact with. She had been in hospital for eight days. Mr Rowley survived.

:: 'Very emotional' funeral held for novichok victim Dawn Sturgess

Charlie Rowley: 'I just can't process what happened'

Reports about police having names for suspects were dismissed by security minister Ben Wallace as "wild speculation".

Public Health England has said the risk to the public remains low, but has advised people not to pick up any unknown items such as syringes, needles, cosmetics, or similar objects made of materials such as metal, plastic or glass.

"The advice remains, 'if you didn't drop it, then don't pick it up'," it said.

The government has continued to make clear it believes the Russian state was behind the attack on the Skripals.

Image: Police officers search Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury

Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian politicians have continued to deny any involvement in the poisonings.

The row has led to tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between the UK, its allies and Russia.
Ben Wallace, British Security Minister, says in an interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin bears the responsibility for multiple Novichok poisonings in the U.K., in which British citizens were harmed and killed.