Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury a month ago along with her father, the Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, is recovering and gaining strength in hospital, according to a new statement.

In a statement released via the Metropolitan Police Service on Thursday, 33-year-old Skripal said: "I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily. I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received.

"I have many people to thank for my recovery and would especially like to mention the people of Salisbury that came to my aid when my father and I were incapacitated. Further than that, I would like to thank the staff at Salisbury District Hospital for their care and professionalism.

"I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence."

Earlier on Thursday, Russian state TV played what it claimed was a recording of a phone conversation between Yulia and her cousin Viktoria Skripal on 4 April.

In the recording, it is claimed Yulia said: "Everything is fine but we'll see how it goes; we'll decide later. You know what the situation is here. Everything is fine, everything is solvable, everyone is recovering and alive."

She is alleged to have added: "Everything is OK. He is resting now, having a sleep. Everyone's health is fine; there are no irreparable things. I will be discharged soon. Everything is OK."

In the call Viktoria Skipal said she would like to come to the UK to visit, but Yulia told her it was unlikely she would get a visa.

The call was aired on the Rossiya-1 channel's 60 Minutes show on Thursday, which also included political pundits casting doubt on the UK's claim that Russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack and alleged it was part of a campaign to denigrate the country.

