The UK government could unveil new sanctions against Russia on Monday in response to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern city of Salisbury.
Prime Minister Theresa May will chair a meeting of the UK’s National Security Council on Monday to discuss the incident.
According to several British newspapers, citing government sources, she is expected to declare after the meeting that the attack was a state-sponsored murder attempt, carried out by Russia on British soil, and announce fresh sanctions against Moscow.
British daily The Times reported that the prime minister is also considering an array of other hardline measures, including diplomatic expulsions and rescinding the visas of Kremlin-linked residents among the possible measures.
Lawmaker Tom Tugendhat told the BBC on Monday that the poisoning of Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, looked “awfully like it was state-sponsored attempted murder.”
He added: “We’re expecting the prime minister to make an announcement soon and frankly I would be surprised if she did not point the finger at the Kremlin.”
Former Russian intelligence agent Skripal and his daughter were found slumped on a bench in the southern English town of Salisbury on March 4. The pair was rushed to hospital where they remain in critical but stable condition. Authorities confirmed that the father and daughter were poisoned by a nerve agent, but have yet disclose the specific type used.
Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.