Displaying items by tag: Salisbury

Many believe the Russian government hopes that a TV interview with the two men suspected of being spies and using Novichok in the UK will generate sympathy at home (see ). Putin says they are sports nutrition salesmen, not assassins. But the risk for Russia is that the interview raises more questions than it answers and offers more details for sceptics to unpick and challenge. The two suspects accused of carrying out the nerve agent attack claimed they had travelled to Salisbury to see its famous cathedral. The BBC reported that one of them said, ‘Maybe we did approach Skripal's house, but we don't know where it is located.’

The Zizzi restaurant and sites across Salisbury remain cordoned off after Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found poisoned by Novichok nerve-agent in the area last month. The Bishop of Salisbury is inviting members of the public to a special service to celebrate the community life of the city at St. Thomas’ Church at 3 pm on Sunday 15 April. The service will include city leaders in business and community, plus members of the emergency and public services to give thanks for the work they do and pray for those affected by the attack. At the conclusion of the service they will go in procession to the site where the Skripals were found for a ceremony to symbolically ‘reclaim Salisbury for the common good’. The service will include hymns and prayers from both Russia and this country, as well as readings from the Christian Bible - the grounding of both cultures.