Embassy Press Officer’s reply to a media question concerning the current state of the investigation of the Salisbury incident

Question: How would you comment on the information published by the British media stating that experts specializing in face recognition have allegedly joined the team investigating the Salisbury incident?

Answer: The latest leak, claiming that some “face recognisers”, who allegedly participated in the investigation of the 2011 London riots, have been asked to help to identify the “Russian agents”, is yet another indication of the lack of serious evidence on this case. If one is to believe that the experts were called to check Salisbury CCTV recordings against photos of “known Russian agents”, this is another clear example of the efforts to make the investigation fit original political accusations against Russia voiced just days after the incident.

Speaking more broadly, we have to note again that, while no official information on the current state of the investigation of the Salisbury incident is being disclosed, the media continue to spread unverifiable rumours and leaks. Moreover, this issue is being commented not by the police officials involved into the investigation, but by the people, who have nothing to do with it, such as “independent experts”, retired police officers, etc.

We once again demand that the British authorities begin to follow their international obligations, share all available information regarding the incident with Russia and launch a transparent investigation in cooperation with Russian experts.