Novichok attack: Third man was involved in attempted Skripal assassination, website claims

Anatoliy Chepiga Alexander Mishkin

The website said Anatoliy Chepiga Alexander Mishkin were joined by a third man (Image: Russia Today)

Meanwhile it has emerged the other two suspects, identified by the Bellingcat website recently as military doctor Alexander Mishkin and , a highly decorated GRU colonel, may have spied on Mr Skripal in the Czech Republic four years ago.

The Fontana website alleged Sergey Fedotov, 45, arrived in Britain on March 2 on a separate flight from the others.

The trio are said to have boarded the same flight to leave the UK on March 4, the same day Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were discovered unconscious on a bench in the centre of the town after being targeted with the banned nerve agent.

Fontanka produced evidence to suggest showed that Fedotov had made frequent trips to Europe, including Britain in both March 2016 and March 2017. 

We will not be discussing any further details in what remains a live investigation

Metropolitan Police spokesman

His passport number was similar to others issued to others believed to be Russian military intelligence officers staying at an address belonging to Russian intelligence organisation GRU.

Mr Skripal and his daughter were left fighting for their lives after the attack, and are currently staying at an undisclosed location.

To compound matters, months later , a resident of Amesbury, died after she was unwittingly given a bottle containing novichok by partner Charlie Rowley, who remains seriously ill.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan police, which is leading the investigation, told Express.co.uk: “We will not be discussing any further details in what remains a live investigation.”

Sergei Skripal Yulia Skripal

The attack left Sergei and Yulia Skripal fighting for their lives (Image: GETTY)

The report came as it emerged that Chepiga and Mishkin may kept tabs on Mr Skripal when he visited the Czech Republic in 2014 to meet local intelligence services to brief them about how to unmask Russian spies.

Czech Radio claimed the pair were in the country at the same time, citing an unnamed intelligence source.

It said Mr Mishkin, travelling under the name Alexander Petrov, was in the country from October 13 to 16, 2014, while Mr Chepiga, whose alias was Ruslan Boshirov, was in Prague on October 11 of that year.

The timing of both visits coincided with the period during which Mr Skripal was there, the source said.

Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied any Russian involvement (Image: GETTY)

The Security Information Service, Czech Republic’s main national intelligence agency, refused to comment, as did the Russian embassy in Prague.

Russian President spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the Kremlin would only comment on allegations made through “official channels”.

Mr Skripal, jailed by Russia for 13 years in 2006 for selling state secrets to MI6, is thought to have continued work with western intelligence services after being released in 2010 as part of a spy exchange.

Mr Peskov and Mr Chepiga appeared on Russian state television channel Russia Today last month in a widely-derided interview in which they claimed to be businessmen who had only gone to Salisbury to visit its famous cathedral.

Prime Minister Theresa May

Prime Minister Theresa May has pointed the finger of blame at Moscow (Image: GETTY)

UK Prime Minister said: “The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command. 

“So this was not a rogue operation. It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state.”

Mr Putin has consistently denied any Russian involvement in the attack on the Skripals. 

However, last week he called Mr Skripal a “scumbag” and a “traitor to his motherland”. 

He added: “He was caught, he was punished, he spent five years in prison, we let him go, he left and continued co-operating with, providing consultations to foreign security services.”

The former KGB officer gave an indication of his contempt for traitors in 2010 when he said: “They will kick the bucket themselves, believe me,” he said on television in 2010.