The perfume bottle full of Novichok used to target Sergei and Yulia Skripal contained enough of the nerve agent to kill 4,000 people, it was claimed today.

A security official said the two Russian agents accused of carrying out the Salisbury attack had brought enough Novichok to cause 'significant loss of life'.

The UK's envoy to the UN yesterday accused Moscow of 'playing dice' with British lives after the finger was pointed at Vladimir Putin and the GRU.

The attack left the Skripals critically ill and led to the death of British mother Dawn Sturgess, but the nerve agent could have cost thousands more lives, The Times reported.

And security sources have also claimed the police and secret service are probing whether the novichok hidden in a high-tech perfume bottle entered Britain in a diplomatic bag then smuggled into the Russian embassy in London.

The perfume bottle full of Novichok (left), which Russian agents Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov (right) are accused of using in the attack, could have killed up to 4,000 people

Dame Karen Pierce (pictured yesterday), the UK's representative at the UN, said Russia had 'played dice with the lives of the people of Salisbury' over the Novichok poisonings

Dame Karen Pierce, the UK's representative at the UN, said Russia had 'played dice with the lives of the people of Salisbury'.

'We have clear evidence of Russian state involvement in what happened in Salisbury,' she told the meeting.

Russia said the West was operating in a 'post-truth world', calling the affair a 'theatre of the absurd'.

The two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - have been identified by the UK as members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau earlier issued a joint statement with Theresa May agreeing with the British assessment that the operation was 'almost certainly approved at a senior government level' in Moscow.

Detectives believe it is likely the two suspects, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on March 4.

Police said the suspects spent two nights at a hotel in east London and made a suspected 'reconnaissance' trip to Salisbury the day before the Skripals were poisoned.

The two Russian spies being sought over the Novichok poisoning in Salisbury carried passports with the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - but police say that these are unlikely to be their real names

This is the astonishing moment the two Novichok assassins casually window-shopped in Salisbury just minutes after smearing poison on the Skripals' doorknob

Something in the shop display caught Alexander Petrov's eye (dressed in woolly hat and a blue coat) and he stopped fellow assassin Ruslan Boshirov (in the cap)

The pair then look up at the shop door as they appear to be considering going inside to look more closely at the item they have been examining

Petrov seems to head towards the front door on the shop before realising that the premises are closed and the men continue walking towards Salisbury railway station to catch a train back towards London

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mrs May's accusations are 'unacceptable' and that 'no-one in the Russian leadership' has anything to do with the poisoning.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the UK and US of a 'witch hunt' against Russia.

Meanwhile the Russian embassy Twitter account posted a series of messages aimed at undermining the credibility of the UK investigation .

They included comparisons to the intelligence evidence used to build the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

MailOnline revealed that the suspects casually window-shopped in Salisbury just minutes after they tried to murder former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The exclusive first footage seen of the killers shows the two men looking relaxed and good-humoured as they sauntered down the street towards Salisbury station to make their getaway.

Fake Nina Ricci perfume bottle used by Salisbury assassins was 'made by top scientists from the 'Q-ski' branch of Russia's military intelligence Police have released images of the perfume bottle they say was adapted to help the two Russian suspects carry out their lethal attack The Russians spent a fortune on the tiny James Bond-inspired perfume bottle used to carry novichok including developing new technology to ensure it wasn't a suicide mission for their agents, experts revealed today. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, one of Britain's top chemical weapons experts, says the fake sample vial of Nina Ricci Premier Jour could only have been produced by Putin's top scientists in their most sophisticated and top secret lab. He told MailOnline: 'They needed to ensure that the men carrying out the attack did not kill themselves while doing it. It would be deeply embarrassing if their agents died on foreign soil'. The two assassins, using the aliases Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, carried the bottle of Novichok into the UK unhindered before spraying it on Sergei Skripal's front door in suburban Salisbury in March. Experts believe the botched hit came after up to three months of development and testing probably sanctioned at the highest levels of the Russian state. The lab, branded 'Q-ski' after the research and development division of the British Secret Service in James Bond, made the bottle and 'one-way' applicator nozzle so it was impossible for novichok to leak out in transit. It was also made of special toughened glass, plastic or ceramic sure not to smash, crack or degrade while carrying one of the world deadliest weapons. Advertisement

Dressed in winter clothing, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are seen walking past the Dauwalders collectables and rare stamp shop before becoming distracted by the window display.

Petrov is wearing a backpack, black woolly hat and blue down coat, while Boshirov is wearing a dark bomber jacket and a baseball cap.

Appearing to forget about their mission, they examine the window display in detail, talking enthusiastically about the collectors' items.

They then approach the shop entrance as if to make a purchase, before realising that the shop is closed and continued towards Salisbury railway station and make their escape.

The Salisbury assassins spent two years jetting around Europe using their 'perfect' fake IDs and one even flew into London 12 months before the novichok attack, security sources in Russia revealed today.

The suspects were handed genuine Russian passports and then secured visas from the British embassy in Moscow under bogus aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov to avoid detection during their murder mission in March.

Their passports were repeatedly used on trips from Moscow to Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan and Paris between September 2016 and March 2018 with British investigators now scrambling to work out exactly what the Russian spies were doing in Europe.

Petrov's passport was also used in London on February 28 2017 - a year before their botched mission to kill former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent smeared on his front door in suburban Salisbury.

The travel details have been published by Fontanka, an independent Russian media outlet with a strong track record of investigative reporting into Putin's regime.

Hamish de Bretton Gordon, one of Britain's top chemical weapons experts, told MailOnline today that UK security sources have briefed him that the men, who were GRU military agents, had watertight backstories that helped them avoid being stopped at the UK border.

He said: 'The passports were perfect in every detail including all the electrics and circuitry. It fooled the British border electronic security which is considered to be among the best around. We also gave them visas they must have had a plausible back story'.

Mr de Bretton Gordon suggested that Russia may even have hacked the UK's border security system to make doubly sure they were not flagged as 'people of interest' and interviewed. The Home Office today denied this.

Today Security Minister Ben Wallace said Vladimir Putin is 'ultimately responsible' for the novichok attack because of his tight grip on the GRU spy network which sent two 'calamitous' state assassins on a 'pathetic' mission to kill Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

This map shows the European cities visited by the two alleged assassins in the two years before the Salisbury attack

He said: 'The state had clearly decided to sit behind this action and lend its logistics. The men were given genuine passports, provided with aliases that survived a certain level of test and visas used by many law-abiding Russians to visit Britain for holidays or business.

'The Russian state, which we know had invented novichok, must have made sure it was put in a package that was there to disguise it. If you let them into your system, airside in Russia, it becomes a harder thing to detect'.

Mr Wallace said he is '100 per cent sure' the men named carried out the attack and claimed that Vladimir Putin has ultimate responsibility for the actions of his spies - but added: 'This was more Johnny English than James Bond'.

He said: 'Ultimately he does, insofar as he is president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence - that's the GRU - via his minister of defence. I don't think that anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state'.

When asked how the UK would respond he refused to say, adding: 'We retaliate in our way. We are not the Russians, we don't adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen. We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way'.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Theresa May's accusations are 'unacceptable' and that 'no-one in the Russian leadership' has anything to do with the poisoning.

He also said Russia 'has no reasons' to investigate Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

Theresa May will wreak revenge on Russia with cyber warfare, espionage, financial sanctions and travel bans all likely to be used, sources said.

Interpol has been put on red alert to detain the two agents, who use the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

Mrs May has warned they would be brought to Britain for trial if they ever left Russia - but experts have said that Vladimir Putin will personally ensure the assassins never leave the country and reward them with lucrative promotions despite botching their assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Historian Yuri Felshtinsky, author of The Putin Corporation whose friend Alexander Litvinenko was murdered after the co-authored a book together, told MailOnline: 'Even though they botched their covert attack, President Putin will praise the two members of the GRU and reward them in ways that will advance their career, promoting them as heroes now that their cover is blown'.

Theresa May yesterday blamed the Kremlin for the novichok attack and hinted the assassination order may have come directly from Mr Putin because only he has the power in Russian law to order killings abroad.

Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, went further by saying: 'President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act' while Bob Seely, a Tory MP and Russia expert, said the order could 'only have come from the Russian head of state'.

Poisoning victim Charlie Rowley has urged police to bring the two suspects to justice.

Mr Rowley, 48, and his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill in Amesbury after coming into contact with the substance months after the same nerve agent was used against former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July and a still frail Mr Rowley made an impassioned call to see the suspects, said by police to be Russian military intelligence officers, 'brought to justice'.

There are fears his calls could prove futile because Russia's president Vladimir Putin would protect his 'heroes' and prevent them ever leaving the country, which has no extradition treaty with Britain.

It echoes the case of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, was murdered using radioactive polonium in London.

Andrei Lugovoy, widely suspected of the killing, remained in Russia where he claimed it was'more likely that the moon will become part of the Earth' than that he would face justice in Britain.

In a day of extraordinary revelations, it emerged that the two suspects had 'near-identical passport numbers' suggesting the travel documents were issued at the same time ahead of their journey to the UK.

While an apartment in a 25-story building registered to one of the suspects in Moscow proved to be bogus as it was revealed to be the home of an elderly female cleaner - with residents telling Russian media they had never seen a man coming or going on that floor.

Services announced Petrov and Boshirov as the two men responsible for the attack on Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March.

Astonishing CCTV images show Petrov and Boshirov grinning as they walk around the Wiltshire city on the day Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the military-grade chemical weapon.

Map shows Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov's movement on the day of the poisoning

Alexander Litvinenko Former KGB agent Litvinenko was poisoned after radioactive polonium 210 was slipped into his tea pot in 2006, a killing which a judge said was probably approved by President Vladimir Putin. An inquiry found two Russian men - Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun - had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko by putting polonium-210 into his drink at a London hotel, leading to an agonising death. Litvinenko in hospital before his death It said the use of the radioactive substance - which could only have come from a nuclear reactor - was a 'strong indicator' of state involvement and that the two men had probably been acting under the direction of the FSB. Possible motives included Litvinenko's work for British intelligence agencies, his criticism of the FSB, and his association with other Russian dissidents, while it said there was also a 'personal dimension' to the antagonism between him and Putin. International arrest warrants issued for Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun remain in force although Russia continues to refuse their extradition. Mr Lugovoi became a Russian MP in 2007 soon after the interest in him over Litvinenko's death. This meant he now has political immunity and cannot be prosecuted. An inquiry found two Russian men - Andrei Lugovoi (pictured) and Dmitri Kovtun - had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko Advertisement

Prime Minister Theresa May today revealed the two men are thought to be officers in Russia's GRU military intelligence service, according to British agencies.

The novichok attack left a trail of the deadly nerve agent around Salisbury, with mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess dying after she came into contact with the chemical. Mrs Sturgess's partner Charlie Rowley and county police officer Nick Bailey were also hospitalised.

In response, Mr Rowley said from his hospital bed that he while he did not recognise the pair, he wants to see the men 'brought to justice'.

He told ITV News: 'I don't recognise the two suspects, but I want to see them brought to justice.

'I am glad that Police are making progress with their investigation but at the same time, it's upsetting to see Dawn's face everywhere, because it brings all the hurt and pain at losing her back to reality.

'It is progress to see the suspects identified in the Skripal case. But we need to make sure that these people are also held accountable for Dawn's murder. She was a beautiful woman whose life was unjustly taken away because of them.'

Despite Mr Rowley's calls, Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert for the Institute of International Relations, said the pair will never be brought to justice, even if Putin loses his grip on power.

He told Sky News: 'Even if the government changes in Moscow, the Russian constitution explicitly bars the extradition of Russian citizens and given that we assume these two, whatever their real names are, it's not what's on their passport, given that they are Russian citizens, they are not going to be extradited.

'The only chance is if they are stupid enough to try to travel abroad… but to be perfectly honest, their holiday plans are going to be Crimea rather than anywhere else.'

Crystal clear CCTV images released today show the two Russian agents entering Britain at Gatwick, strolling around Salisbury on the day of the attack, and leaving the UK at Heathrow Airport just hours after the Skripals were found collapsed in a park.

Prosecutors will not be applying to Russia for the extradition of the two men, as no agreement exists between the countries, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained in case either of the pair are ever spotted outside of Russia.

Theresa May told MPs that British secret services believe the two suspects are officers of the Russian military intelligence agency known as the GRU.

She said it's unlikely the agency would have been allowed to carry out such a brazen attack on its own and the hit was 'almost certainly approved at a senior level of the Russian state'.

Mrs May added: 'The GRU is a highly-disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command. So this was not a rogue operation.

'The actions of the GRU are a threat to all our allies and all our citizens. On the basis of what we have learnt in the Salisbury investigation and what we know about this organisation more broadly, we must now step up our collective efforts specifically against the GRU.'

The pair were caught on CCTV at Salisbury train station on March 3, the day before Mr Skripal was poisoned. Scotland Yard believe they came to the town to carry out a reconnaissance mission

Police released an image of the perfume bottle believed to have contained the novichok and the box it was hidden in. This was picked up by Salisbury resident Dawn Sturgess weeks after the attack. She sprayed it on her wrists before she died

It has been possible to reconstruct their journey from Moscow to London, on to the Wiltshire cathedral city and back on a plane to Russia

Mr Skripal was a colonel in the GRU before he was jailed for selling secrets to the West and brought to Britain in a spy swap. The Prime Minister's announcement therefore suggests the hit may have been organised by his former colleagues.

Police said it is likely the suspects, who are aged around 40, were travelling under aliases and Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names. They are appealing to anyone around the world who knows their real identities to contact them.

In a busy morning of announcements and statements, prosecutors revealed Petrov and Boshirov are wanted for conspiracy to murder Mr Skripal and the attempted murder of his daughter.

If caught, the Russians will also be charged with the attempted murder of DS Bailey and the use of novichok contrary to the Chemical Weapons Act.

But Russian authorities denied all knowledge of the two men, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling reporters: 'The names published by the media, like their photographs, mean nothing to us.'

Biometric data is required from Russians seeking British visas, meaning anti-terror police could hold their genuine fingerprints and iris data.

But there are fears the pair could avoid justice but simply staying in Russia for the rest of their lives, like the alleged killers of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in 2006.

The charge d'affaires at Russia's London embassy was today summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down by an official as Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko is not currently in the country.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'He was informed of the charges we have brought against two Russian citizens, the fact that they were GRU officers and of our determination that they should be brought to justice.

'We also made clear that the UK expects the Russian state to account for the reckless and outrageous actions of the GRU and that the UK expects that Russia provides a full account of its chemical weapons programme to the OPCW.'

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with novichok in Salisbury in attack which the UK has blamed on Russia

Mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after they came into contact with novichok. It is thought they found a bottle used to store the chemical

Why won't Russia extradite the suspects? British authorities today said they would not apply to extradite the suspects as any request would be rejected by Putin's regime. The Russian constitution forbids the extradition of Russian citizens to another state. A European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has been obtained, which means that if either man travels to a country covered by the scheme they will be arrested. Police investigating the Salisbury poisoning are also seeking to circulate Interpol 'red notices'. The potential for a deadlock carries echoes of the aftermath of the murder of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. In that case, two men were identified as suspects but were never handed over to Britain. Advertisement

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the military-grade chemical weapon in Salisbury in March.

Police officer Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was also poisoned when he attended the retired spy's suburban home. Like the Skripals, he recovered after receiving life-saving treatment at the city's hospital.

But in June, mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died and her partner Charlie Rowley were hospitalised after they fell ill at his home in nearby Amesbury.

Police have now released an image of the perfume bottle used by the would-be assassins to transport the novichok. Mrs Sturgess found the bottle and put the substance on her wrists.

Today's announcement relates to the initial attack, but Mr Basu confirmed that officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in Amesbury less than four months later, in which Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 48, were exposed to the same nerve agent.

Scotland Yard's counter terror Commissioner Neil Basu said: 'Today marks the most significant moment so far in what has been one of the most complex and intensive investigations we have undertaken in Counter Terrorism policing; the charging of two suspects – both Russian nationals - in relation to the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.'

Mr Basu added: 'We do not believe Dawn and Charlie were deliberately targeted, but became victims as a result of the recklessness in which such a toxic nerve agent was disposed of.

'We know that novichok was applied to the Skripals' front door in an area that is accessible to the public, which also endangered the lives of members of the public and emergency service responders.'

The Skripals were found collapsed on a park bench in Salisbury in March, sparking a huge investigation which involved anti-terror police, the military and chemical weapons experts

Britain's most senior police officer, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick added: 'We remain absolutely determined to identify and bring about a prosecution in the UK courts of those persons responsible for these attacks and we will do all we can to get justice for the victims and their families.'

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed yesterday the toxic chemical that killed Dawn Sturgess was the same nerve agent as that which poisoned the Skripals three months earlier.

The OPCW said it was not possible to conclude whether the nerve agent used in the two incidents was from the same batch.

The Russian state has previously denied involvement. Its embassy in London yesterday demanded access to the Skripals.

A statement released by the Russian Embassy on Tuesday claimed the circumstances of the March attack as 'obscure' and accused British authorities of keeping the Skripals in isolation ever since their release from hospital.

It said: 'They remain out of the public eye at an unknown location, unable to communicate freely with their relatives, friends, journalists or Russian officials, deprived of the freedom of movement.'

Mrs Sturgess's former home in Salisbury was closed off by police in July as her death meant the investigation became a murder probe

It is thought Novichok was smeared on the front door handle of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home

Revealed: How 'assassins' faked a Nina Ricci perfume bottle full of toxic nerve agent then 'recklessly threw it away', leading to the death of British woman Russian agents suspected of carrying out the novichok attack used a glass container made to look like a perfume bottle. Charlie Rowley, 48, told police he found a box he thought contained perfume in a charity bin on Wednesday June 27. The box and bottle were labelled as Premier Jour by Nina Ricci - but Scotland Yard has confirmed that they were counterfeits and had been specially adapted. Inside the box was a bottle and applicator, and police said Mr Rowley tried to put the two parts together at his home address in Amesbury on Saturday June 30. In doing so, he got some of the contents on himself. He said his partner, Dawn Sturgess, 44, had applied some of the substance to her wrists before feeling unwell. After he told police where he found the box, cordons were put in place and two bins behind shops in Catherine Street, Salisbury, were removed. Previously, during a search of Mr Rowley's home in Muggleton Road, Amesbury, on July 10, a small box labelled as Nina Ricci Premier Jour was recovered from a rubbish bag in the kitchen. The deadly chemical weapon is thought to have been smuggled around Britain disguised as perfume in this box On July 11, a small glass bottle with a modified nozzle was found on a kitchen worktop. Tests undertaken at the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory established that the bottle contained a 'significant amount of novichok', Scotland Yard said. The novichok container was designed to look like a bottle of Premier Jour by Nina Ricci. File photo Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after she and Mr Rowley fell ill. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the manner in which the bottle and packaging was adapted made it a 'perfect cover' for smuggling the weapon into the country. He added: 'We have carried out numerous inquiries in relation to the bottle and are now able to release an image of it with the nozzle attached. 'We are also releasing an image of the box that the bottle and nozzle were in. 'We have spoken to Nina Ricci and undertaken further inquiries. Nina Ricci and our inquiries have confirmed that it is not a genuine Nina Ricci perfume bottle, box or nozzle. 'It is in fact a counterfeit box, bottle and nozzle that have been especially adapted. 'I'd like to reassure anyone who has bought Nina Ricci perfume from a legitimate source that they should not be concerned. It is safe. 'We cannot account for the whereabouts of the bottle, nozzle or box between the attack on the Skripals on March 4 and when Charlie Rowley said he found it on Wednesday June 27.' Advertisement

Who are the GRU and how was double agent Sergei Skripal involved with them?

The GRU - an acronym for Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye or Main Intelligence Directorate - was founded in 1918 after Lenin's Bolshevik Revolution.

Lenin insisted on its independence from other secret services and the GRU was seen as a rival by other Soviet secret services, such as the KGB.

According to Yuri Shvets, a former KGB agent, GRU officers were referred to as 'boots' - tough but unsophisticated.

'The GRU took its officers from the trenches,' he said, whereas KGB picked its agents from the USSR's best universities.

The GRU headquarters in Moscow. The agency's operatives were originally seen as rougher and less sophisticated than their KGB counterparts, according to former agents

The GRU would train agents and then send them to represent the Soviet Union abroad as military attaches in foreign embassies, according to historian John Barron.

But once a member of the GRU, it is believed to be exceptionally difficult to leave. And those who do so to joined foreign agencies were punished savagely.

A younger Sergei Skripal. He went on to unmask dozens of secret agents and feed information to MI6

Viktor Suvorov, a GRU officer who defected to Britain in 1978, said new recruits were shown a video of a traitor from the agency being burned alive in a furnace as a warning.

Unlike the KGB, the GRU was not split up when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

It has a special status and answers directly to the chief of the general staff, one of the three people who control Russia's portable nuclear control system.

GRU chiefs are reportedly picked by Putin himself.

The GRU is now considered Russia's largest foreign intelligence service, according to Reuters, dwarfing Moscow's better-known Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which is the successor to the KGB's First Chief Directorate.

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in GRU , was considered by the Kremlin to be one of the most damaging spies of his generation.

He was responsible for unmasking dozens of secret agents threatening Western interests by operating undercover in Europe.

Col Skripal, 66, allegedly received £78,000 in exchange for taking huge risks to pass classified information to MI6.

In 2006, he was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp after being convicted of passing invaluable Russian secrets to the UK.

A senior source in Moscow said at the time: 'This man is a big hero for MI6.'

He was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp when he was convicted of passing secrets to Britain

After being convicted of 'high treason in the form of espionage' by Moscow's military court, Col Skripal was stripped of his rank, medals and state awards.

He was alleged by Russia's security service, the FSB, to have begun working for the British secret services while serving in the army in the 1990s.

GRU, one of whose divisions has an emblem featuring a bat, was founded after the Russian Revolution

He passed information classified as state secrets and was paid for the work by MI6, the FSB claimed.

Col Skripal pleaded guilty at the trial and co-operated with investigators, reports said at the time. He admitted his activities and gave a full account of his spying, which led to a reduced sentence.

In July 2010, he was pardoned by then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and was one of four spies exchanged for ten Russian agents deported from the US in an historic swap involving red-headed 'femme fatale' Anna Chapman.

After the swap at Vienna airport, Col Skripal was one of two spies who came to Britain and he has kept a low profile for the past eight years.

The former spy was living at an address in Salisbury, Wiltshire, when the suspected poisoning took place in the city centre.