Russian national convicted of spying for Britain found critically ill from unknown substance
A man who is critically ill after being exposed to an unknown substance in Wiltshire is a Russian national convicted of spying for Britain, the BBC understands. Sergei Skripal, 66, was granted refuge in the UK following a "spy swap" between the US and Russia in 2010. He and a woman, 33, were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping centre in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon. The substance has not been identified.
Wiltshire Police are investigating whether a crime has been committed. They said the pair had no visible injuries but had been found unconscious at the Maltings shopping centre. They have declared a "major incident" and multiple agencies are investigating. They said it had not been declared as a counter-terrorism incident, but they were keeping an "open mind". They said officers did not believe there was any risk to the wider public.
Col Skripal, who is a retired Russian military intelligence officer, was jailed for 13 years in 2006 for spying for Britain. He was convicted of passing the identities of Russian intelligence agents working undercover in Europe to the UK's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43295134
