Russian Hackers Back on the Menu! London Drops Skripal Case and Falls Back on Tried and True Tactic
Meanwhile, London is destroying the evidence of its recent venture. After kidnapping the Skripals and hiding them who-knows-where, Britain is switching to a new anti-Russian provocation. They claim Russia is going to attack Britain via the Internet, which means they have to attack first. It's a new scenario that they're playing out together with their American partners. One anti-Russian venture comes after the other.
Alexander Khabarov with the details from London.
The Salisbury park has a new fence. For security reasons, apparently. However, even prior to that, no one could approach the place where the Skripals were found. The city is preparing for large-scale disinfection. It will be conducted in those places which the former colonel visited on March 4. The residents of Salisbury were warned that in some places, some toxic hot spots might still remain. They must be identified and eliminated.
"We assume that in certain circumstances there will be relatively high concentrations of novichok in very specific locations which could be at levels that could be toxic to individuals".
Prior to that, they were offering a free medical check-up to all those who ate and drank next to the former colonel on that ill-fated Sunday. But since there were only three victims, a policeman, and the Skripals, all those fences look as if the British authorities are trying to cut all loose ends, and not only in Salisbury. Russian diplomats are still not allowed to meet with Yulia Skripal, a Russian citizen. Scotland Yard makes statements on her behalf, claiming that Yulia doesn't want to meet any representatives of Russia.
Alexander Yakovenko, Ambassador to the UK: "It's not enough. According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, we are to see her personally and assess her physical condition. If she says she doesn't want to see us and doesn't need our help, her choice will be respected. But we have to be sure that she's speaking on her behalf, and that she's healthy, both physically and mentally".
Since this all began, within a 45 day period the Russian embassy sent more than 30 notes to the British Foreign Office containing about 50 questions but has received no response. April 23rd marks the 10-day deadline before which the British government is obliged to respond to Russia's request to provide detailed information about the Salisbury incident. The request was sent through the OPCW.
- Russia expects to get access to the so-called first-hand documents from the crime scene. Are you sure that Britain will provide them, or is it a rhetorical question?
Alexander Yakovenko: We'll be persistent. Actually, there are no strict restrictions. They submitted the final report, why can't we get access to the draft versions of it? We must be sure that the information submitted to the OPCW was taken into account. Examining the report will help us determine whether there were any inaccuracies in the research conducted by the laboratories. Their version of the events varies slightly depending on the circumstances. Our specialists have thoroughly studied the data they received from the group of investigators which was deployed to Salisbury and came to the conclusion that the British exploited the mission. The research was guided in a way that was beneficial for Britain and corresponded to its version of the events in Salisbury.
The official position of London claims that their version is the only true one. The authorities are threatening to close Russia Today. The British media regulator Ofcom doesn't hide the fact that it's directly linked to the Skripal case.
"Since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programs on the RT service that warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. We will announce the outcome of these investigations as soon as possible. In relation to our fit and proper duty, we will consider all relevant new evidence and decide on the future conduct of the licensee".
Ofcom claims that RT could have violated the principle of impartiality and isolated seven potential cases.
Margarita Simonyan, RT editor-in-chief: "They started seven new investigations against us in a single day. They haven't done it for a year. They announced seven new investigations on their website after the Skripal incident. First they recite what Theresa May said almost word-for-word about how the British media regulator has to investigate the activities of RT, and then the British media regulator announces this investigation".
George Galloway, a veteran of British politics, is one of the suspects. He hosts a program called Sputnik on the Russian channel. It's not the first time Galloway is in trouble with the British government. He opposed the invasion of Iraq, the war in Libya, and the intervention in the Syrian conflict.
- You have a lot of political experience. You remember the times of the USSR and, most certainly, the Cold War. Can you compare the current situation between Moscow and London with the Cold war or not?
George Galloway, former member of parliament: It's worse than then, assuming we don't count the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, of course. Even at that time, we didn't really believe that war could break out between us and the USSR. But this weekend, when Britain prepared to deliver a strike against Syria under a false pretense, I thought that war was a possibility. I have five children and I couldn't sleep as I worried about their future.
This week, US and British intelligence agencies blamed Russia for preparing a cyber attack against the West. Her Majesty's subjects were warned that Russian hackers were controlling almost every household that had an internet connection.
"Putin hacks British homes", read the scary headline of the Daily Mail issue. The military used the commotion to raise its budget in order to form special cyber warfare units to combat hackers. The British Parliament now also has a special squad, or rather, a task force, which will focus on analyzing Russian election interference and disinformation efforts. The task force consists of parliamentary committees responsible for defense and security. It's led by Tom Tugendhat, a former intelligence officer and current Conservative Party member. The first thing he demanded after the incident was closing Russia Today.
George Galloway: "If they manage to use that and actually close RT, it will signify the end of the freedom of speech, opinion, and even British democracy as a whole. We're one step away from authoritarianism".
Instead of giving information about the Salisbury investigation, they've given a series of fibs. The Sunday People claims that the British intelligence services have identified the main suspect in the Skripal case. They say it's an FSB secret agent codenamed "Gordon." They even published an 80's photo of the suspect to seem more credible. The face has been blurred. The photo was handed over by defector Boris Karpichkov. This former employee of the Latvian KGB fled to the West more than 20 years ago. After the Salisbury incident, Karpichkov immediately stated that he feared for his life. Now he claims that he told the police everything he knew about this mysterious Gordon character, who allegedly used to be his subordinate.
"He was a very intelligent, educated, ambitious, and ruthless person," Boris said today. "He was handsome and personable and was quickly able to win a stranger's trust".
The Daily Telegraph claims that law enforcement agencies have already identified the poisoners by analyzing the lists of air passengers arriving and departing from the country in early March.
"The authorities believe Colonel Skripal, the Russian double agent working for Britain, was poisoned in his own house by Russian mercenaries working for the Kremlin. They sprayed the door handle with some Novichok nerve agent".
George Galloway: "You can't put liquid on a door handle and make it remain there for a while on a rainy day in one of the most rainy regions of England. Water would wash it off instantly. And how can we believe it was pure Novichok? In that case, the Skripals would be dead along with half of Salisbury. In reality, nobody even threw up. The only victims were the two pedigree cats and two guinea pigs. They died of thirst and hunger. The police were guarding the house 24/7 while the poor pets were dying inside. Honestly, if we search for Englishmen who still believe in the government-proposed story, there wouldn't be enough people to fill this small square".
Naturally, Scotland Yard refuses to comment. Newspapers are responsible for spreading the rumors. It's been said that the investigation will drag on for months. They are going to be scrubbing all of Salisbury of the elusive poison up until Christmas, so a bunch of new versions are bound to appear before then. For the British authorities, the main thing is that they all have an accusatory anti-Russian bias.
Alexander Khabarov, Ilya Mordyukov, Vesti: News of the Week, Great Britain.