Skripals poisoned with nerve agent, chemical arms watchdog confirms

The world's chemical weapons watchdog Thursday confirmed UK's findings that the source of the military-grade deadly nerve agent used in an attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury originally came from Russia.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said the chemical used against Sergei and Yulia Skripal was "of high purity", without mentioning the exact name of the substance which will be reserved for the complete classified report it has prepared.

"Today the international chemical weapons watchdog have confirmed the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical used in the attempted assassination of Skripal and his daughter, and which also resulted in the hospitalisation of a British police officer. That was a military- grade nerve agent a Novichok," said UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson.