Novichok hitmen insist they had nothing to do with Skripals' poisoning

The Russian assassins accused by Britain of being sent to poison the Skripals with novichok broke their silence today and said they were just tourists in Salisbury admiring its cathedral after failing to get to Stonehenge.

The men, who used the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov to travel to the UK allegedly smuggling nerve agent in a James Bond-inspired perfume bottle, have spoken to state-funded TV station RT.

Explaining why they have come forward Boshirov said: 'When your life is turned upside down, you don't know what to do and where to go. We're afraid of going out, we fear for ourselves, our lives and lives of our loved ones'. 

The men today described themselves as 'decent lads' working in the sports nutrition business and said they were in Wiltshire to visit Stonehenge but couldn't get there because of bad weather.

Instead they went to the 'extraordinary town' of Salisbury to see its cathedral and 'famous spire' after a recommendation from a friend - not to smear nerve agent on Sergei Skripal's front door. 

But Boshirov also admitted they may have stumbled upon the former spy's suburban home - half an hour's walk from the station and away from the city centre - but only by accident.

He said: 'Maybe we did [approach] Skripal's house, but we don't know where it was located'.




MailOnline