True identity revealed: Salisbury suspect is colonel in Russian military intelligence Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga reportedly served in conflicts in Chechnya and Ukraine and was given a medal in 2014.

One of the men suspected of poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury is a colonel in the Russian military intelligence service.

He was identified by British police earlier this month as Ruslan Boshirov but now an investigation by the organisation Bellingcat has revealed his real name is Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga.

That name has been confirmed by Sky sources.

Chepiga, 39, is reported to have served in conflicts in Chechnya and Ukraine and was given Russia's highest state award - Hero of the Russian Federation - in 2014.

It was by decree of the president, possibly for his service in Ukraine.


Image: Sergei and Yulia Skripal were attacked with novichok in March

In a tweet that was later deleted, Britain's defence secretary Gavin Williamson posted: "The true identity of one of the Salisbury suspects has been revealed to be a Russian colonel. I want to thank all the people who are working so tirelessly on this case."

The Home Office said it could neither confirm nor deny the reporting about the suspect's real identity.

The British government has blamed Moscow for carrying out the novichok attack on former Russian double agent Mr Skripal and his daughter in the Wiltshire town on 4 March.

The pair were both left in a critical condition after being found slumped on a bench.

After being treated in hospital for several weeks they were later discharged and their current whereabouts are unknown.

The two suspects in the Salisbury novichok poisonings say they were merely tourists

The Kremlin has rejected claims it was involved in the nerve agent poisoning.

A few days after British police revealed the names Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov as the two suspects caught on CCTV near the Skripal home, the pair appeared on a Kremlin-backed TV station to deny they had anything to do with the attack.

They also denied being Russian agents and said they were only in Salisbury in early March as tourists to visit the cathedral and nearby Stonehenge.

The pair said they were victims of a "fantastical coincidence" and would like an apology from the real poisoners.

Responding to the interview, Theresa May's spokesman said the suspects' comments were "an insult" and "deeply offensive".

Image: Dawn Sturgess died after she and boyfriend Charlie Rowley came into contact with novichok

"The lies and blatant fabrications in this interview given to a Russian state-sponsored TV station are an insult to the public's intelligence," he said.

"More importantly they are deeply offensive to the victims and loved ones of this horrific attack."

Police officer Nick Bailey also came into contact with the nerve agent, along with Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess soon after in nearby Amesbury. Ms Sturgess fell critically ill and died.