Britain can go on imposing new sanctions against Russia and other steps if Moscow's involvement in the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter is confirmed. On this, speaking on Tuesday, March 6, in the House of Commons, said the head of the British Foreign Ministry Boris Johnson.

According to him, we should not make hasty conclusions while the police are investigating, but if suspicions against Russia are confirmed, the British government will be forced to resort to new sanctions and other measures. "If there is evidence of the responsibility of a particular state, then there will be a corresponding and tough answer from the British government. I tell the governments of all countries that no attempt to take an innocent life in the UK will go unpunished, "the minister said..

Johnson noted that "it is very difficult to imagine that Britain will be represented in the usual way" at the World Cup in Russia, if it turns out that Moscow is involved in the incident. Later, the representative of the British Foreign Ministry explained that it was about the presence at the World Cup 2018 politicians and diplomats, and not the participation of football players of the English national team.

Commenting on the words of Boris Johnson to Interfax, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called them "savagery".

The former colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were hospitalized in the British Salisbury on March 4 with severe poisoning, presumably fentanyl.

In 2006, Skripal was convicted in Russia for espionage in favor of British intelligence and sentenced to 13 years in prison. In 2010, as part of a large-scale exchange of spies between the US and Russia, he was granted asylum in the United Kingdom.