“We were able to identify it as novichok, to identify that it was military-grade nerve agent,” Aitkenhead said. “We have not identified the precise source, but we have provided the scientific info to government who have then used a number of other sources to piece together the conclusions you have come to.”
The chief scientist said that establishing the Novichok’s origin required “other inputs,” some of which are intelligence based and which only the government has access to.
Aitkenhead added: “It is our job to provide the scientific evidence of what this particular nerve agent is, we identified that it is from this particular family and that it is a military grade, but it is not our job to say where it was manufactured.”
Oh good, at least Europe did not expel most Russian diplomats based on a Colin Powellesque assumption that since Russia is the only possible source of Novichok, so it must be. Oh wait…
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