The two Russians charged with attempted murder in the Salisbury nerve agent attack have claimed they were visiting the town's "famous" cathedral as tourists.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were interviewed by the editor-in-chief of state-funded RT - formerly Russia Today - Margarita Simonyan who said she had "spent an evening" with the suspects.

Read the full transcript from the prime suspects in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal here:

Who are they?

Petrov: We're really the people they've been showing (in UK police photographs).

Boshirov: Ruslan Boshirov.

Petrov: Alexander Petrov.

Boshirov: Those are our real names.

Petrov: How would you look after all this?

Boshirov: How would you look if your life had been turned upside-down, broken in a single day?

What were Petrov and Boshirov doing in the UK?

Petrov: Our friends have been recommending that we visit this wonderful city for a long time already.

Boshirov: It's a touristic city. There's a famous cathedral there, the Salisbury cathedral. It's famous not just in all of Europe, it's famous all over the world I think. It's famous for its 123-metre spire, it's famous for its clock, the first clock made in the world that still runs.