One of the trained assassins wanted for poisoning Sergei Skripal is a decorated colonel in Russian military intelligence given the country’s highest award by Vladimir Putin.

The real identity of one of the wanted men in the nerve agent attack - named by counter-terrorism police as Ruslan Boshirov - can be disclosed as Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga.

The 39-year-old, who has served in wars in Chechnya and Ukraine, was made a Hero of the Russian Federation by decree of the President in 2014 in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy.

The disclosure, uncovered by investigative journalist organisation Bellingcat in conjunction with The Telegraph, exposes as lies Mr Putin’s claims that the Skripals' would-be killers were innocent "civilians".

A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims, saying they are part of an "information campaign".

Chepiga, posing as Boshirov, and a second man identified as Alexander Petrov, have insisted they were on holiday in Salisbury and had no connection with the attack, using weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent.

Video: Salisbury poison suspects claim they were tourists