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Counter terror police have ­identified a Russian assassin ­believed to be connected to the Salisbury poisonings.

In a sensational new development the Sunday People can disclose that officers suspect he is a 54-year-old former FSB spy – codename Gordon.

The man is thought to use the cover name Mihails Savickis as well as two other aliases.

But police fear he has already flown back to Russia and they may never get the chance to question him.

Detectives believe there was a team of six behind the novichok chemical ­attack on double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33.

Our revelation follows reports that Britain’s intelligence services have ­compiled a list of key suspects involved in last month’s attack in the Wiltshire city.

(Image: Unknown)

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Gordon’s cover name emerged ­during nearly five hours of questioning by police in London this week of KGB defector Boris Karpichkov, 59.

Boris told the Sunday People how he and Gordon’s paths crossed in the early 1990s.

The two men knew each other when Karpichkov was a major in the FSB, the KGB’s successor, in Latvia.

Gordon was a subordinate of Boris’s.

“He was a very intelligent, educated, ambitious and ruthless person,” Boris said today.

“He was handsome and personable and was quickly able to win a stranger’s trust.”

Boris said Gordon was trained in martial arts and specialised in ju jitsu. He went to university where he gained a law degree.

Our exclusive picture of the man police want to talk to – handed to us by Boris – shows the wanted spy three decades ago.

He is 5ft 9in with no distinguishing marks, fiercely ­intelligent and with a law degree from Latvia’s State University in Riga.

Gordon has used the cover of a ­successful businessman in the security industry. He was a captain in the KGB before joining the FSB after the Cold War ended.

(Image: Sunday Mirror) (Image: London News Pictures Ltd)

He is on the FSB’s Officers of Active Reserve list, a kind of spy territorial army called out for special operations including “wet jobs” as Russian spooks like to call their assassinations.

And he is known to have ­murdered at least one man when he shot an organised crime boss in Latvia during the 1990s.

Gordon’s cover name was ­revealed during nearly five hours of questioning by police on Monday of Karpichkov, who is on the same FSB hitlist as the Skripals.

The ex-spy believes that if Gordon was involved in the Skripal attack he could have been leader of the ­special ops group carrying it out because of his seniority.

The two men knew each other when Karpichkov was an FSB major in Latvia – then part of the Soviet Union – and Gordon was a subordinate.

The codename Gordon was given to the spy by his FSB bosses.

It is not unusual to choose British names. Notorious double agent Kim Philby was codenamed Stanley.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

Our exclusive revelation comes a day after it was reported that police and intelligence agencies have identified key suspects in the attempted assassination of Sergei and his daughter Yulia.

Counter-terrorism police are reportedly trying to build a case against “persons of interest”.

The breakthrough came after a search of flight manifests in and out of the UK yielded specific names in the hunt for the Skripals’ would-be assassins. Police have also drawn on extensive CCTV footage in Salisbury.

But officers know it is unlikely they will ever be able to bring anyone to justice.

The prime suspects in the 2006 murder of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, 43, with radioactive polonium-210 were identified as Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun.

But despite British requests for their extradition from Russia, President Vladimir Putin will not give them up.

Russia continues to deny any involvement.

KGB defector fears over killer

Trained KGB killer Boris Karpichkov today said he was ordered to poison Gordon for betraying one of the FSB’s networks to the Latvian security service.

But he refused to do it. In 1998 he fled Russia with two suitcases full of secrets and defected to Britain with his family.

Then Home Secretary, Theresa May granted him citizenship in 2010.

(Image: Sunday Mirror)

Russian hit squads have twice tried to poison Karpichkov in New Zealand after he moved there between June 2006 and October 2007.

He said today: “I am speaking out as I hope it is the best way to protect myself and my family.

“I know the spy being linked with the Skripals, so my life is in even greater danger now, yet the police have not responded to our request for protection.”

Karpichkov was taken to a police station on Monday to be interviewed. He says: “A man asked if the name Mihails Savickis rang any bells.

"His pronunciation was so bad I did not connect it. When I got home and checked my records I realised he is a killer. I am a loyal British subject now and happy to help the authorities in any way I can. Home Secretary Amber Rudd should help me and my family.”

Cop cordons switched at poison sites

High-security barriers have sprung up around nine toxic hotspots in Salisbury as locals are braced for a multi-million decontamination operation following last month’s Novichok nerve agent attack.

The robust hoardings have replaced police cordons at The Maltings shopping centre, The Mill pub, Riverside House and Zizzi restaurant.

A police station, two ambulance stations and a council building are also likely to undergo decontamination.

(Image: PA)

The clean-up at these sites is expected to take months, but officials have said the rest of the historic Wiltshire city remains safe for residents and visitors.

But diners who visited the same pub and restaurant as Sergei and Yulia Skripal are STILL waiting for their clothes to be decontaminated.

Anybody who was in the Mill Pub or Zizzi between 2.30pm on March 4 and when the outlets closed the following day were told to bag up their clothes and leave them in their homes for collection.

Today Wiltshire council admitted no items have been picked up yet and no compensation paid for those who had been wearing dry-clean-only clothes.

A council spokesman said: “Those claims are in the process of being collated and assessed.

“Once this is complete collection arrangements will be agreed and compensation paid.

“No items have been collected to date and the disposal method has yet to be agreed.”