"We've had two incidents in recent years… the second one only a few days ago in Salisbury looking awfully like it was a state-sponsored attempted murder," Tugendhat told the BBC.
READ MORE: Analyst Sheds Some Light on Mysterious Russian Ex-Spy Poisoning Story
On March 5, the UK police said that a man and a woman were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in Salisbury. Both of them were "in a critical condition" and are being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson later confirmed that the man was Skripal, who was granted asylum in the United Kingdom after a US-Russia spy exchange, while the woman was his daughter, Yulia.
On March 7, while delivering a speech in parliament earlier in the day, the top UK diplomat threatened that London could reconsider the level of its representation at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia if the investigation into suspected poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former officer of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) accused of spying on behalf of London, showed that Moscow was linked to the incident.
Later, the Telegraph newspaper reported that the UK is going to introduce its version of the Magnitsky Act targeting Russian nationals, including officials who are accused of violating human rights and of corruption.
The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom noted that the UK media outlets are manipulating the facts calling former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal a "Russian agent."
Meanwhile, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd called for avoiding speculation over the incident with former Russian military intelligence colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
READ MORE: Skripal Provided MI6 With Entire Telephone Directory of Russia's GRU – Reports
In 2006, Skripal was sentenced in Russia to 13 years in prison for cooperating with the UK Secret Intelligence Service MI6 and transferring names of Russian intelligence agents working undercover in Europe. In 2010, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree pardoning Skripal, with the latter then moving to the United Kingdom.
