Boris Johnson claims England could pull out of the 2018 World Cup if a link is proven between Russia and the suspected poison attempt in Salisbury.

66-year-old former spy Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter are seriously ill in hospital amid suspicions he was deliberately poisoned.

The Foreign Secretary suggested he shared the suspicions and promised "robust" action if a foreign state was involved, report The Mirror .

Boris Johnson

Johnson said: "We don't know exactly what has taken place in Salisbury, but if it's as bad as it looks, it is another crime in the litany of crimes that we can lay at Russia's door," Johnson told the British parliament.

"It is clear that Russia, I'm afraid, is now in many respects a malign and disruptive force, and the UK is in the lead across the world in trying to counteract that activity.

“I think it will be difficult to see how UK representation at the World Cup (in Russia) can go ahead."

England boss Gareth Southgate

England are the only UK side in the World Cup, which gets underway in June.

Although he said it would be wrong to speculate on what has happened to Mr Skirpal, Johnson said that if it was found that there was state involvement then the government would act "appropriately and robustly".

He said: "Although I am not now pointing fingers, because we cannot point fingers, I say to governments around the world that no attempt to take innocent life on UK soil will go either unsanctioned or unpunished."