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Theresa May plans to hit back over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent with sanctions against Vladimir Putin's allies and more troops and jets in Eastern Europe, it was claimed.

The Prime Minister is said to be just days away from naming Moscow as the chief suspect in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal.

The 66-year-old ex-spy and his daughter Yulia, 33, are critically ill in hospital after being poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Russia has not been implicated in public by the UK government or investigators and has denied allegations that it was involved in Sunday's targeted attack.

Mrs May is now said to be drawing up a "full spectrum" retaliation for the hit on the ex-spy who betrayed Moscow amid suspicions the toxin was developed in a laboratory in Russia and smuggled into Britain.

(Image: Daily Mirror) (Image: TASS)

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She plans a response that will include, in the longer term, more British soldiers and fighter jets in Eastern Europe near the Russian border, and a push for Nato-wide reinforcement, the Sun reported, quoting unnamed Whitehall sources.

The Prime Minister's response will also see the expulsion of senior Russian diplomats and spies, and a joint statement of condemnation with allies including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was claimed.

It has been speculated that Britain could expel the Russian ambassador from the UK if Moscow is found to have been involved in the attack.

(Image: Daily Mirror) (Image: Daily Mirror)

Other retaliatory measures include cash and travel freezes for the Russian president's pals with financial interests in London and Europe, a source told the Mirror.

Mrs May, asked whether the action taken if Russia was found to be responsible could include the expulsion of its ambassador, told ITV News: "We will do what is appropriate, we will do what is right, if it is proved to be the case that this is state-sponsored.

"But let's give the police the time and space to actually conduct their investigation."

Russia's Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov dismissed warnings of British retaliation as propaganda on Friday and accused the UK government of stoking tensions.

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A senior UK government minister told the Sun: “We are in a new Cold War with Russia that is beginning to get hot.

“We need to completely overhaul our posture to reflect that."

“This is all about debilitating the West, so we have to reverse the psychology and make Putin look weak."

Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who visited Salisbury on Friday, described the attempted murder as a "brazen and reckless" act.

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Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh called it “a brazen act of war” if Russia was behind the incident.

Mr Lavrov told reporters Russian officials had not received a single fact or piece of concrete evidence about what happened to the Skripals.

He said: "What we see is only news reports ... saying that if it is Russia, then a response is going to be given that Russia is going to remember forever. That is not serious.

"This is propaganda fair and square and it is trying to raise tensions."

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He added: "If someone wants us to engage in an investigation, be that on the poisoning of the UK subject or the rumours about alleged interference in the electoral campaign of the US, if you really need our assistance, then we will be willing to contemplate this possibility if we have the necessary data and facts.

"But in order to have a serious conversation ... you have to use the official channels."

Mr Skripal and his daughter, who was visiting from Moscow, were rushed to hospital after they found unconscious on a bench near The Maltings shopping area just after 4pm on Sunday.

Nineteen other people, including emergency service workers, have been treated for potential exposure to the nerve agent used in a bid to kill the Russians.

Simon Kempton, the Police Federation's operational policing lead, paid tribute to Det Sgt Nick Bailey, who fell seriously ill during the investigation.

He said: "He's really highly regarded. Everyone knows Nick and he's really well thought of.

"He brought a really serious sex offender to justice."

Speaking at the police cordon, yards away from the bench where the Skripals were found, he added: "[Det Sgt Bailey] is receiving the best possible medical care. The NHS is doing an amazing job.

"He's in a very serious condition. I haven't been to see him, but my colleagues and his Chief Constable have. He's sitting up and talking, but his condition is very serious.

"He's obviously being treated for the effects of nerve agent contamination."

(Image: Daily Mirror) (Image: PA) (Image: Getty Images Europe)

A number of locations in and around Salisbury have been sealed off this week as part of the ongoing probe into the poisoning.

They include Mr Skripal's home, the Zizzi restaurant and Bishop's Mill pub that the father and daughter visited before they were found and the cemetery where the ex-spy's wife and son are buried.

On Thursday night, forensics officers wearing protective suits and gas masks were at the Ashley Wood car garage, taking a look at a BMW.

Sunday's attack happened seven years after Mr Skripal, a former military intelligence colonel, was pardoned and released from Russia as part of a Cold War-style spy swap with the US.

He had been convicted in his home country in 2006 for passing state secrets to MI6 and sentenced to 13 years.

After being pardoned and released in 2010, he was granted refuge in the UK and settled in Salisbury.