Any secret resettlement of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the UK would be an “abduction”, the Russian embassy in London has said.

The former Russian double agent and his daughter were poisoned by a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury last month, and have been recovering in hospital for the last month.

On Monday, doctors announced Yulia had been released and taken to a secure location, raising questions about whether the 33-year-old would be resettled or granted asylum in the UK or US.

Soon after the announcement by the hospital, the Russian embassy said resettlement of the pair would be “another gross violation of international law”.

“The world, while having no opportunity to interact with them, will have every reason to see this as an abduction of the two Russian nationals or at least as their isolation,” a statement read.

The poisoning has triggered a diplomatic standoff between Britain, its allies and Russia in the last five weeks.

Last week Yulia Skripal was reported to have dismissed a Russian request for consular access to her. Her cousin, Viktoria, who has appeared on Russian state-owned television to discuss the case, said she had been denied a British visa to visit the pair.

The Sunday Times reported the pair would likely be given new identities and relocated, possibly to America. </s> Yulia Skripal has refused assistance from Russia since leaving hospital, after her home country claimed Britain had “abducted” her. A diplomatic battle has been raging between the two nations over whether the Russian embassy should be allowed access to the 33-year-old daughter of ex-spy Sergei Skripal, both of whom were poisoned with a deadly nerve agent last month. Yulia Skripal, who was found critically ill alongside her 66-year-old father on a bench in Salisbury, was discharged from hospital in Wiltshire this week. It is believed that British authorities immediately transfered her away to a secure location. The embassy reacted angrily to the news, suggesting in a series of tweets that the Russian national had been taken against her will and had been effectively “abducted’. However, it is understood that the offer of consular support from Russia was presented to Skripal – and rejected. She is believed to have expressed no interest in talking to consular officials. Russia remains the prime suspect for carrying out the attack on Skripal and his daughter.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We have previously passed on the Russian embassy’s offer of consular support to Yulia. “She is free to decide on whether she wishes to pursue that. To date, we understand she has not done so.” The Foreign Office escalated the war of words on Tuesday, saying in a series of statements posted on social media: “Secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal, barred from any contact with their family will be seen as an abduction or at least as their forced isolation.” Skripal’s release from hospital was met with a similar broadside from the UK embassy, which has repeatedly criticised the handling of the investigation into the attack. In a statement, a spokesman said: “We congratulate Yulia on her recovery. “Yet we need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will.”

Continuing the onslaught of scepticism on Wednesday morning, it suggested reports Skripal had turned down consular assistance actually revealed she is being “held hostage by the same people who destroy evidence and fail to come up with a single official account of the crime”. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov previously said it was “outrageous” that Britain had failed to provide consular access to Ms Skripal as news of her improving condition was announced earlier this month. Her release from hospital was announced by Salisbury District Hospital medical director Dr Christine Blanshard on Tuesday. She said: “Both patients have responded exceptionally well to the treatment we’ve been providing. But, equally, both patients are at different stages in their recovery. “I want to take this opportunity to wish Yulia well. This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone.” She added: “Although he is recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course.” The former double agent was jailed in Russia for selling secrets to MI6 but was released as part of a spy swap deal in 2010 and settled in the UK. It is hoped he will soon be fit for release from hospital, despite grave fears that the exposure to military-grade nerve agent Novichok on March 4 would prove fatal. Britain has said that Russian state involvement is the only plausible explanation for the attack and has led a worldwide reaction involving the expulsion of more than 100 diplomats. </s> Russia has said any secret resettlement of the spy poisoned in Salisbury and his daughter will be seen as "abduction".

The threat came hours after it was revealed Yulia Skripal has been discharged from hospital, five weeks after she and her father, Sergei Skripal, were found slumped on a bench in central Salisbury on 4 March after they were poisoned.

Having made a rapid recovery in recent days, Ms Skripal was discharged on Monday and taken to a secure location.

The Russian Embassy in London said that if the Skripals were resettled in the USA, Australia, Canada or New Zealand and offered new identities - as reported - it would be "another gross violation of international law".

A statement said: "With a secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal all opportunities to hear their version of the events of 4 March will highly likely be lost forever.

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"The world, while having no opportunity to interact with them, will have every reason to see this as an abduction of the two Russian nationals or at least as their isolation."

Christine Blanshard, deputy chief executive and medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said both Ms Skripal, 33, and her father, 66, have been responding well to treatment in the five weeks they have been in hospital.

She said they have received "round-the-clock" care and revealed that nerve agents cause hallucinations and sickness.

Image: Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury on 4 March

Mr Skripal is making good progress and will be discharged "in due course" but is recovering more slowly than his daughter, she added.

They were contaminated by the nerve agent novichok, thought to have been smeared hours earlier on the handle of Mr Skripal's front door at his home on the edge of the city.

His daughter had arrived the day before on a visit from her home in Moscow.

For nearly a month both were in a critical condition, but they have recently made a remarkable recovery.

Reacting to the news Ms Skripal had been discharged, the Russian Embassy in London tweeted its congratulations but said it needed "urgent proof" that she was not being influenced.

We congratulate Yulia Skripal on her recovery. Yet we need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will. — Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 10, 2018

Theresa May said: "Obviously I welcome the fact that Yulia Skripal has been discharged from hospital and I wish her the best for her continuing recovery."

When contacted on Tuesday morning Viktoria Skripal, Yulia's cousin, said she had only just heard, via the story broken by Sky News, that her cousin had been discharged.

She has since been trying to contact her.

"I think Britain will insist that she claims asylum," she said, adding: "I've tried lots of numbers for her but have had no response.

"How should I feel? I'm feeling pleased that she's well enough to be released from hospital.

"So far my feelings are unclear because I have not seen her and nobody has seen her, we've just had information."

Skripal cousin: 'I've heard nothing'

At the end of last week Viktoria Skripal said she had been denied a UK visa to travel to Salisbury to visit her cousin and uncle.

At the end of March, Prime Minister Theresa May said doctors indicated the Skripals "may never recover fully" as she announced that more than 130 people in Salisbury could potentially have been exposed to the nerve agent.

The poisoning of the Skripals prompted nearly 30 countries to expel more than 150 Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK after it blamed Russia for poisoning the family.

Russia has reacted by expelling other countries' diplomats and closing down the US consulate in St Petersburg - after Donald Trump closed the Russian consulate in Seattle </s> The 33-year-old and her father Sergei, 66, were poisoned in Salisbury with a deadly chemical thought to have been ordered by Moscow more than a month ago. Her release was confirmed yesterday and her father's health is said to be improving at Salisbury District Hospital. The Russian embassy in London congratulated her on her recovery but said it needed "urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will". There were originally grave fears that former spy Mr Skripal and his daughter would not survive coming into contact with the military-grade nerve agent Novichok.

The hospital said the release of Ms Skripal marked a "significant milestone" but was not the end of her treatment. Milestone Announcing an update on the Skripals' conditions, Salisbury District Hospital medical director Dr Christine Blanshard said: "I want to take this opportunity to wish Yulia well. This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone." Dr Blanshard said of Mr Skripal: "Although he is recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course." Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was also exposed to the nerve agent, was discharged from the hospital on March 22. Yulia has been released to a secure location amid the diplomatic fall-out. The Russian Embassy has repeatedly criticised the handling of the investigation into the attack and claims it remains concerned by a British refusal to grant Ms Skripal's cousin Viktoria a visa to visit her family.

The embassy said: "Secret resettlement of Mr and Ms Skripal, barred from any contact with their family, will be seen as an abduction or at least as their forced isolation." It last night issued a statement paying tribute to the NHS, saying: "We are genuinely happy for Yulia and wish her a further recovery and rehabilitation. The Embassy wants to pay tribute to the professionalism of the medical staff at the hospital in Salisbury. "At the same time, media reports that Yulia has left hospital for a 'secure location' cause concern as they mean that British authorities are continuing their policy of isolating her from the public, concealing important evidence and blocking an impartial and independent investigation. "We are convinced that details of the incident that Yulia could share would become a valuable contribution to the progress of the investigation." The Russians have made a formal request to the Foreign Office to meet Yulia.

Responding to yesterday's developments, Prime Minister Theresa May said: "Well obviously I welcome the fact that Yulia Skripal has been discharged from hospital and I wish her the best for her continuing recovery and I'd like to say a huge thank you to all the staff at the hospital in Salisbury who have looked after her and her father so well." Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov previously said it was "outrageous" that Britain had failed to provide consular access to Ms Skripal. Expulsion The embassy also issued what it termed "questions without answer" about the Skripal case - including whether the UK had ever produced Novichok nerve agent. Britain has said that Russian state involvement is the only plausible explanation for the attack, and has led a worldwide reaction involving the expulsion of more than 100 diplomats. Salisbury District Hospital said specialised decontamination techniques and a "variety of drugs" were used to treat the Skripals until they could reproduce the enzymes destroyed by the nerve agent. They had "round-the-clock care" which helped their "rapid" recovery, according to the hospital. </s> LONDON — Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has been discharged from a British hospital, more than two months after he was poisoned with nerve agent, hospital officials in the United Kingdom said Friday.

Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unresponsive on a bench in Salisbury, a city in southern England, on March 4. The two were taken to Salisbury District Hospital in critical condition.

Yulia Skripal was discharged from the hospital last month.

Salisbury District Hospital announced Friday that both patients have now been released. The father and daughter have been taken to an undisclosed location for their safety.

Britain says the Skripals were poisoned with Soviet-developed Novichok nerve agent and blames Russia. The Kremlin denies any responsibility. Sergei Skripal spent time in jail in Russia for passing state secrets to Britain. He was released as part of a spy swap in 2010 and moved to Salisbury.

The poisoning incident has soured relations between Russia and many British allies.

Dozens of countries including Britain and the United States have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats because of the incident, while Russia has retaliated by expelling foreign envoys.

London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said it was continuing to investigate the poisonings as attempted murders.

"This is a complex investigation and detectives continue to gather and piece together all the evidence to establish the full facts and circumstances behind this dreadful attack," the MPS said in a statement.



 "In the interests of Sergei and Yulia’s safety, we will not be discussing any protective or security arrangements that are in place," the statement added.

More: Yulia Skripal, daughter of Russian former spy, discharged from Salisbury hospital after poisoning

More:List of countries and organizations that expelled Russian diplomats </s> Russia's ambassador has written to the police officer treated in hospital after the Salisbury attack, wishing him a "full recovery" and assuring him Russia had "nothing to do with this reckless incident".

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was discharged from hospital on Thursday after several weeks of treatment.

He was one of the first to respond to the nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Alexander Yakovenko, Russia's UK ambassador, wrote: "I was relieved to hear you were released from hospital and reunited with your family. I wish you full recovery and hope that you will be able to return to your normal life as soon as possible.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your bravery when reacting to the assault on two Russian nationals, Sergei and Yulia Skripal, on 4 March in Salisbury, who I hope will get well soon too.

"Please be assured that Russia has nothing to do with this reckless incident and is ready to cooperate with the British authorities with regard to the investigation both bilaterally and through international organisations."

After leaving hospital, DS Bailey, 38, said in a written statement that his experience had been "completely surreal".

He said: "People ask me how I am feeling - but there are really no words to explain how I feel right now.

"I have been so very overwhelmed by the support, cards and messages I have received - everyone has been so incredible."

His wife, Sarah, also released a statement that said their world had been "turned upside down" and the attack was "the most traumatic event of our life".

The ambassador's letter strikes a different tone to his news conference in London earlier this week where he hit back at UK government assertions that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack.

Mr Yakovenko told reporters that Russia "can't take British words for granted," and accused the UK of having a "bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community".

The diplomatic fallout from the Salisbury incident on 4 March continues.

A "large number" of EU countries are set to impose tougher sanctions on Russia after agreeing with the UK claim that the Russian state is to blame.

It is understood nations including France, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania are preparing to expel Russian diplomats - or spies posing as diplomats - from their countries.

Britain has already expelled diplomats from the London embassy, and Russia has now followed suit.

Meanwhile, the bench where the Skripals were found frothing at the mouth and unable to control their bodies has been removed.

Police in chemical suits wrapped it in plastic film and used an angle grinder to cut it from the ground, before hauling it into a back of a van.

It is being kept as evidence as part of the attempted murder investigation.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain critical and largely unresponsive in hospital.

A court on Thursday approved a request for international chemical weapons experts to take a sample of their blood to check the UK's view that they were poisoned with the novichok nerve agent.

The Court of Protection said it was unclear whether they will recover, and if they do their mental capacity could be affected to an unknown degree. </s> The daughter of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal has been discharged from hospital more than five weeks after the Salisbury poisoning.

Yulia Skripal has been allowed to leave Salisbury District Hospital in Wiltshire after making a remarkable recovery from the nerve agent attack.

It is believed the 33-year-old is now in a safe location.

Her former double agent dad, 66, remains hospitalised, but will hopefully also be released "in due course", hospital officials said this morning.

Speaking at a press conference, medical director Dr Christine Blanshard said both of the pair "have responded exceptionally well" to treatment.

She said they have received round-the-clock care from clinicians, but are at different stages, with Sergei "recovering more slowly than Yulia".

Scroll down for the hospital's full statement

Announcing the update on Yulia, Dr Blanshard said: "This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone."

She added that Sergei has "also made good progress".

"On Friday I announced he was no longer in a critical condition," she said.

"Although he is recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course."

Shortly after the update, the Russian Embassy said it needed "urgent proof" that the actions taken with Yulia are being "done on her own free will".

It tweeted: "We congratulate Yulia Skripal on her recovery. Yet we need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will."

Doctors had previously said Yulia's health was quickly improving after she and Sergei were poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok last month.

Today, her family in Russia said they were "pleased" by the news of her discharge - but called on Britain to provide proof of it.

Her cousin, Viktoria Skripal, said that without such proof, she found the reports of her release "hard to believe" and difficult to "comprehend".

The 45-year-old said: "I heard news about her being discharged today, and my heart jumped. Have you seen her? How was she? No?

"Has anyone in fact seen her? They must let us see her."

She added: "I am so confused about the news.

"I wish I could see at least a glimpse of her leaving the hospital.

"Honestly I find it hard to believe it and can't quite comprehend it.

“I think I'll start believing it when I can at least see her, and better hug and see her face to face."

Viktoria claimed neither she nor her relatives had received a call or a message about Yulia's discharge.

In an interview with Sky News, she said: "I'm feeling pleased that she's well enough to be released from hospital."

But she added: "So far my feelings are unclear because I have not seen her and nobody has seen her, we've just had information."

Yulia and Sergei had been left fighting for their lives after being found slumped on a bench near a shopping centre in the cathedral city on March 4.

The pair were in a critical condition at the hospital for almost a month, but in recent weeks, medics said both of their health had improved rapidly.

And today, Dr Blanshard confirmed: "We have now discharged Yulia."

It understood the young woman was taken to a secure location after leaving hospital, according to the BBC.

While some reports have claimed the Skripals could be resettled in the US after their release, others say Yulia could seek political asylum in the UK.

Viktoria claimed today that the pair would not be safe if they end up being relocated to America, possibly with new identities.

"I can't say if it's safe for them in Russia or if it's safe for them to remain there (UK), but the unsafest place is America,” she said.

In an earlier interview, the cousin had said Yulia would seek asylum.

She claimed to have recorded a phone conversation with the young woman while she was still in hospital, according to Russia's RIA news agency.

Speaking to a Russian TV talk show, Viktoria reportedly said: "I know that Yulia Skripal's statement about political asylum is coming already."

Last week, Yulia had issued a statement via police, saying her strength was growing daily and she had received many messages of goodwill.

The news of her discharge from hospital comes after she was apparently recorded saying her father was "sleeping" and "resting".

In the unverified recording, sent to Russian state broadcaster Russia 1, she also apparently said "nobody has got anything they won’t recover from".

The recording was played at the same time as Yulia released an official statement via the Met Police, thanking Salisbury locals for coming to her aid and hospital staff for their "care and professionalism".

In the statement, released on Thursday, she said: “I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily. I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received.

“I have many people to thank for my recovery and would especially like to mention the people of Salisbury that came to my aid when my father and I were incapacitated. Further than that, I would like to thank the staff at Salisbury District Hospital for their care and professionalism.

“I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence.”

Sergei, a former colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence service who came to Britain in 2010, is also no longer in a critical condition.

On Friday, doctors said the father was "responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition". But the Foreign Office has said the pair are likely go have "ongoing medical needs".

Yulia and Sergei's dramatic health improvements reportedly forced UK authorities to consider measures to protect them after their discharge from hospital.

And the authorities appear to have taken such measures, with Yulia apparently now in a safe place following her release.

Her father became a British citizen when he arrived in the country eight years ago as part of a high-profile spy swap. Neighbours have told of how he is a "quiet" man who dresses casually and drives a BMW.

The poisoning has sparked a major diplomatic row between Russia and the UK, plunging relations between the nations to an all-time low.

Britain says Yulia and Sergei were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent and has blamed Russia for the attack.

However, Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident.

"My name is Dr Christine Blanshard and I'm the medical director here at Salisbury District Hospital. I am joined by Lorna Wilkinson our director of nursing.

"I want to give you an update on the progress of the two remaining inpatients that we are treating here at the Hospital - Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

"I will not be taking questions following this statement.

"Following the incident on March 4, Salisbury District Hospital received three people who required inpatient care - Sergei and Yulia Skripal and DS Nick Bailey, who was discharged on March 22nd.

"All three had been exposed to a nerve agent - a highly toxic chemical which aims to prevent the nervous system from functioning.

"In the four weeks since the incident in the city centre, both have received round the clock care from our clinicians, who've been able to draw in advice and support from world leading experts in this field.

"We've been keeping you updated on the condition of Yulia and Sergei, whilst respecting the right to privacy to which they - and all our patients - are entitled.

"While I won't go into great detail about the treatment we've been providing, I will say that nerve agents work by attaching themselves to a particular enzyme in the body which then stops the nerves from working properly. This results in symptoms such as sickness and hallucinations.

"Our job in treating the patients has been to stabilise them - ensuring that the patients could breathe and that blood could continue to circulate. We then needed to use a variety of different drugs to support the patients until they could create more enzymes to replace those affected by the poisoning.

"We also used specialised decontamination techniques to remove any residual toxins.

"Both patients have responded exceptionally well to the treatment we've been providing. But equally, both patients are at different stages in their recovery.

"We have now discharged Yulia from Salisbury District Hospital. Yulia has asked for privacy from the media and I want to reiterate that request.

"I also want to take this opportunity to wish Yulia well. This is not the end of her treatment, but marks a significant milestone.

"Her father has also made good progress. On Friday I announced that he was no longer in a critical condition. Although he is recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course.

"Finally, I want to pay tribute to the staff here at Salisbury District Hospital. The past few weeks have been enormously testing on all our staff. They have pulled together, not just to deliver outstanding care to the individuals caught up in these terrible events, but to all our patients as they do day in, day out. Both our clinical staff and our staff behind the scenes have been a credit to the hospital, to the NHS and to Salisbury as a city. </s> Yulia Skripal has said her strength is “growing daily” after the nerve agent attack which left her and her father in intensive care.

Her first public comments since the March 4 attack were released shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted a relative in Moscow to say she and Sergei Skripal were recovering and that she would soon be discharged from hospital.

Russia has appealed for the UK to issue visas for relatives to visit the Skripals in hospital in Salisbury, where they are being treated for exposure to nerve agent Novichok.

Moscow has called a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the incident, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying the UK has “legitimate questions” to answer about what happened.

But security minister Ben Wallace said it was “beyond reasonable doubt” that Russia was to blame for the attack, as the UK sought to maintain diplomatic pressure over the incident.

Ms Skripal’s statement was released as, at a press conference at the Russian embassy in London, ambassador Alexander Yakovenko repeated Moscow’s denial of responsibility for the attack.

Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko denied his country had produced the Novichok nerve agent (Yui Mok/PA)Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s claim that Russia maintained a stockpile of Novichok “likely for assassination” was “untrue… not supported by any evidence … unacceptable”, he said.

Mr Yakovenko denied that Russia had ever produced the Novichok nerve agent and said there were “a lot of suspicion about Britain” in relation to a string of deaths of Russian citizens over the past decade.

In her first statement since coming out of a coma, Yulia Skripal, 33, said: “I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily. I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received.”

In the statement released by the Metropolitan Police, she thanked healthcare workers at Salisbury District Hospital as well as “the people of Salisbury that came to my aid when my father and I were incapacitated”.

And she said: “I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence.”

Earlier, Russian media reported that Ms Skripal had told her cousin Viktoria that her father Sergei was “alright”, adding: “Everyone is recovering, everyone survived… No irreparable harm was done. That’s all, I will soon be discharged from the hospital.”

Mr Yakovenko said that Yulia’s sister had been waiting for two days for a visa to come to Britain to visit her in hospital.

“We believe this is a humanitarian case and we could expect that the visa would be issued as fast as possible,” he said. “Everything is in the hands of the British Government.”

On Wednesday, Russia lost a vote at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague on its demand for its experts to be involved in testing samples of the substance used in the Salisbury attack.

But Mr Yakovenko said the Western position had not won the support of most countries, with six of the 41 members backing Russia, 15 voting against – including the UK, US and several EU and Nato states – 17 abstaining, two absent and one not entitled to vote.

He said: “The majority of the world community is not supporting the Western approach.”

Mr Yakovenko said Russia would accept the findings of the OPCW investigation but wants to know who the experts are that are carrying

 out the testing.

He said: “Of course we will accept the results but these results should be confirmed by the international community. So, we want to see who were the experts.

“Last time the team was headed by the British in Syria… and that was a real problem for us.”

Mr Yakovenko said Russia had suspicions about a string of deaths of its nationals in the UK over the past decade, including businessman Nikolai Glushkov, whose body was discovered in his south London home last month.

“We have a lot of suspicions about Britain,” said the ambassador. “If we take the last 10 years, so many Russian citizens died here in the UK under very strange circumstances…

“My question is ‘Why is it happening here?’”

Russian officials speaking after Wednesday’s OPCW meeting said they presented a “common sense” case and pointed to the “lies by Tony Blair” over Iraq as they criticised the intelligence about the attack.

But Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that comparisons to the flawed intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were not valid.

“There’s no missing nerve agent that no-one can find – it was used in Salisbury, we had three people seriously ill, two obviously remain in hospital in critical condition, and there is no doubt that we have found nerve agent,” he said.

“That nerve agent has been identified to being manufactured we believe in Russia and we believe that the nerve agent, the Novichok type of nerve agent, is only capable of being produced by a nation state, and then we add that to intelligence we hold, we add that to some of the police investigation that’s going on right now, and we can say that roads lead to Russia, that we are beyond reasonable doubt of the view that the Russian state is behind this.” </s> LONDON — The daughter of a Russian ex-spy who was poisoned with nerve agent along with her father has been released from hospital, British media reported Tuesday.

Yulia Skripal and her father Sergei were found unresponsive on a bench in Salisbury, southern England, on March 4.

Yulia, 33, was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital on Monday and taken to a secure location, the BBC reported.

"Yulia has now been discharged from Salisbury District Hospital. This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone," said Christine Blanshard, the hospital's medical director, in a statement Tuesday.

Sergei Skripal remains in the hospital. Blanshard said last week that the 66-year-old was "responding well to treatment” and “improving rapidly."

"Both patients have responded exceptionally well to the treatment we’ve been providing. But equally, both patients are at different stages in their recovery," Blanshard said Tuesday.

"Although he (Sergei) is recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course," she added.

The United Kingdom has blamed Russia for the Skripals' poisoning with Novichok nerve agent. The Kremlin denies any responsibility.

The Russian Embassy in London tweeted: "We congratulate Yulia Skripal on her recovery. Yet we need urgent proof that what is being done to her is done on her own free will."

Dozens of countries including Britain and the United States have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats because of the incident, while Russia has retaliated by expelling foreign envoys. </s> The Foreign Office has said it is considering a request from Russia to see Yulia Skripal over the Salisbury poisoning. The Russian embassy tweeted to demand to see her in hospital, despite the fact the UK Government has accused the Russian state of being behind the nerve agent attack on her and her father, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal. The embassy tweeted on Friday that it was “good news” Yulia Skripal’s condition was improving and added they “insist on our right to see her” in hospital in Salisbury, where she has been since the poisoning on March 4.

On Saturday, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are considering requests for consular access in line with our obligations under international and domestic law, including the rights and wishes of Yulia Skripal.” Yulia Skripal, 33, has spent three weeks in a critical condition after she and her father were exposed to Novichok. Sergei Skripal, 66, father remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital. On Thursday, the hospital said Yulia Skripal is “improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition”. “She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day,” the hospital said. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack. Governments, including the UK and US, have expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning.

Russia has expelled 23 British diplomats from Moscow in a tit-for-tat response to Britain expelling the same number of Russians. On Friday, the Kremlin ordered Britain to further reduce the number of diplomats in Moscow down to the same amount that Russia has in London. It came as ambassadors from more than 20 countries were called into the foreign ministry in Moscow to be told of the latest wave of retaliatory measures being imposed. The Russian embassy also accused British authorities of “another blatant provocation” after an Aeroflot flight was allegedly searched by Border Force officers at Heathrow. An embassy official suggested that the jet, which had arrived from Moscow on a scheduled return trip, had been searched in connection with the diplomatic crisis over the Salisbury spy poisoning.
Yulia Skripal is released from hospital. Russia says it will view any resettlement efforts by the United Kingdom as "abduction."