Britain demanded on Thursday that Russia provide details about the Novichok nerve agent attack on a former double agent and his daughter after two British citizens were struck down with the same poison.   

 The two Britons, a 44-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, were critically ill after an apparently chance encounter with the poison near the site of the March attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.   

 Britain has accused Russia of poisoning the Skripals with Novichok - a nerve agent developed by the Soviet military during the Cold War - in what is the first known offensive use of such a chemical weapon on European soil since World War Two.   

 Russia, which is currently hosting the soccer World Cup, has denied any involvement in the March incident and suggested the British security services had carried out the attack to stoke anti-Moscow hysteria.   

 “The eyes of the world are currently on Russia, not least because of the World Cup,” British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said. “It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains what has gone on.” he told parliament.   

 The Kremlin said Russia had offered Britain its assistance in investigating the nerve agent attack and had been rebuffed.   
AMESBURY REUTERS 
July 5   

Amesbury Novichok crisis staged to ruin the World Cup: Russia  

The Kremlin today claimed the UK was ‘dumb’ for thinking Russia would use a nerve agent to poison Britons while it hosts the World Cup.  

The Russian Embassy in the Netherlands tweeted: ‘How dumb they think Russia is to use ‘again’ so-called ‘Novichok’ in the middle of the FIFA World Cup and after the special session of the CSP (convened by the way by Britain) that gave the OPCW attribution functions. The show must go on?’