Global Geopolitical Series: UK’s foreign secretary lied in order to blame Russia in Skripal case

The United Kingdom’s foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who rose to prominence for his support for a British exit from the United Kingdom has put both his credibility and his post in jeopardy as it gets revealed that he lied during his interview with Germany’s state broadcaster in order to put the blame on Russia.

During the interview, the reporter asked Mr. Johnson, “You argue that the source of this nerve agent, Novichok, is Russia. How did you manage to find it out so quickly? Does Britain possess samples of it?” to which Mr. Johnson replied, “Let me be clear with you … When I look at the evidence, I mean the people from Porton Down, the laboratory,” he replies before the presenter interjects “So they have the samples?” And Johnson replied, “They do. And they were absolutely categorical and I asked the guy myself, I said, "Are you sure?" And he said there's no doubt”.

On Tuesday, the chief executive of Porton Down, Gary Aitkenhead told Sky News how his scientists were unable to link samples of the substance, allegedly used to attack Sergei and Yulia Skripal, to Russia. Gary Aitkenhead insisted that, while the experts had identified the agent as A-234 or Novichok they had not identified the precise source and also insisted that it was not their job to do so.

While the OPCW couldn’t identify Russia as a source of the agent, it has definitely confirmed (indirectly) that the UK foreign Secretary lied in order to blame Russia.