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Two Labour MPs and a senior ally of Angela Merkel have questioned the motives of the Tory government after the Porton Down defence laboratory revealed they couldn\u2019t confirm that the Salisbury nerve agent came from Russia.<\/p>\n
In a string of tweets, Labour MP Chris Williamson has taken aim at the conservative agenda, likening their severe sanctions on Russia on flimsy evidence to Tony Blair\u2019s trigger-happy launch into the 2003 Iraq War based on bogus intelligence.<\/p>\n
\n7\/ But as Jeremy pointed out, and as I said on Newsnight, it was that kind of non-transparent evidence that formed the basis for Britain’s disastrous invasion in Iraq.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chris Williamson MP (@DerbyChrisW) April 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n8\/ So, given what we now know, have you changed your mind on Jeremy’s calm and measured approach? Or do you, like @JWoodcockMP<\/a>, think the role of the Leader of the Opposition should be to get unquestionably over-excited at the prospect for foreign conflict?<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chris Williamson MP (@DerbyChrisW) April 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Williamson highlighted the criticism leveled at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for asking for unequivocal proof that Russia was behind the poisoning. Corbyn faced boos and hisses in the House of Commons, and mockery in the media \u2013 including doctored images used on the BBC that suggested that Corbyn was sympathetic to the Russian state.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you\u2019ll remember, the BBC was echoing claims that Jeremy\u2019s response to the poisoning of Skripal amounted to being soft on Russia,\u201d Williamson wrote. \u201cRather than join in the hysteria, the Leader of the Opposition asked for clear evidence that Russia was to blame.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\n2\/ As you\u2019ll remember, the BBC was echoing claims that Jeremy\u2019s response to the poisoning of Skripal amounted to being soft on Russia. Rather than join in the hysteria, the Leader of the Opposition asked for clear evidence that Russia was to blame: pic.twitter.com\/IRWVgtblkP<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Chris Williamson MP (@DerbyChrisW) April 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Williamson pointed out that UK Prime Minister Theresa May had carefully selected her words when the Skripal scandal began, telling the world that it was likely to have been used by the Russian state, and that the UK could prove what the poison was. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, however, threw caution to the wind.<\/p>\n
\n\n4\/ Theresa May was guarded with her words. She said they could prove what the nerve agent was and that it was likely to have been used by the Russian state. However @BorisJohnson<\/a> said officials at Porton Down told him the evidence that it was Russian was \u201cabsolutely categorical\u201d pic.twitter.com\/W6O77vQHoS<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Chris Williamson MP (@DerbyChrisW) April 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Johnson insisted that the chemical weapon used to attack Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury was of Russian origin. He told German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle on March 20 that the evidence proved it was \u201cabsolutely categorical\u201d<\/em> that the chemical came from Russia.<\/p>\n
\n\nFor the avoidance of doubt – here is Boris Johnson clearly claiming that Porton Down had confirmed to him the source of the Salisbury nerve agent. Words matter. He lied. pic.twitter.com\/oeuZNNxbAZ<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 EL4C (@EL4JC) April 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
As Johnson insisted to the world that the Novichok-type agent was Russian, the High Court was dealing with an application for further blood tests to be taken from the unconscious Skripals. In the hearings over the blood samples, evidence given by a Porton Down analyst was careful in its wording, avoiding affirming the origin of the nerve agent, subsequently casting doubt on the foreign secretary\u2019s insistence of Russian involvement.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:\u00a0Exposed: Court documents cast doubt on Boris Johnson\u2019s claim nerve gas is in \u2018no doubt\u2019 Novichok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
In a TV interview, Porton Down\u2019s chief executive, Gary Aitkenhead, said on Tuesday that they are unable to confirm the origin of the chemical weapon used to attack Sergei Skripal, who is in critical condition, and his daughter Yulia, who is now stable.<\/p>\n
Now officials from the UK\u2019s allies are questioning the their actions. Armin Laschet, one of five deputy chairmen of the German chancellor\u2019s Christian Democratic Union, questioned Britain\u2019s push to persuade its allies that Russia was to blame.<\/p>\n
\n\nWenn man fast alle NATO-Staaten zur Solidarit\u00e4t zwingt, sollte man dann nicht sichere Belege haben? Man kann zu Russland stehen wie man will, aber ich habe im Studium des V\u00f6lkerrechts einen anderen Umgang der Staaten gelernt. https:\/\/t.co\/kqMSS2qkhi<\/a><\/p>\n