UK dismisses claim of two Russian nerve agent attack suspects as "lies and blatant fabrications"

The UK government Thursday dismissed as "lies and blatant fabrications" the claim of the two Russians accused of carrying out a deadly nerve agent attack in the country on a former Russian spy and his daughter that they were innocent civilian tourists.

The men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told Russian government backed RT channel that they travelled to the English town of Salisbury purely to see tourist sites such as Stonehenge, which is about 16 kilometres from Salisbury.

On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin said "there is nothing criminal about them", calling the two men caught on security cameras in the UK "civilians".

The duo are accused by the UK of trying to kill Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March. The two fell critically ill but recovered after weeks of intensive care in hospital. Their current whereabouts are being kept secret.

Reacting to the statements of the two Russians, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said, "The lies and blatant fabrications in this interview given to a Russian state-sponsored TV station are an insult to the public's intelligence and more importantly they are deeply offensive to the victims and loved ones of this horrific attack."
During the TV interview, two men displayed a detailed knowledge of Salisbury cathedral, noting its 123-metre spire and clock, the "first of its kind anywhere in the world."