Sources say British police have identified at least two suspects in the March poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia using closed-circuit television images and border entry information.
Several Russians were thought to be involved in the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, sources told the Press Association.
They are believed to have been identified through CCTV, cross-checked with border entry data.
Earlier this month, Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being poisoned by Novichok.
She and her partner, Charlie Rowley, 45, fell ill on 30 June in Amesbury, Wiltshire. He remains seriously ill in hospital.
Police believe the incident is linked to the poisoning of the Skripals, who were discovered slumped on a bench on 4 March. They have since been discharged from hospital.
(...)
The source with knowledge of the investigation told the Press Association: "Investigators believe they have identified the suspected perpetrators of the Novichok attack through CCTV and have cross-checked this with records of people who entered the country around that time.
"They (the investigators) are sure they (the suspects) are Russian."
A source also said to have knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Thursday that two suspects had been identified and that the pair had left the UK after the attack.
CNN:
The pair left the UK in the wake of the attack on what is believed to have been a commercial flight, the source added.
Their departure was revealed in a coded Russian message to Moscow sent after the attack, which was intercepted by a British base in Cyprus, the source said. The British government blames the Skripals' poisoning on Russia.
(...)
Using facial recognition technology, authorities discovered two "fresh identities" -- individuals not known to have been spies or used in other attacks -- the source added.
Investigators cross-checked that information with the manifest of the flight on which the suspects were believed to have left Britain. They traveled under aliases, the source said. It is not clear whether the pair are Russian.
(...)
Russia's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko shrugged off the claims at a Russian Foreign Ministry event in Moscow. "These are the reports of the media," he told reporters.
"Unfortunately, we don't have official statements from the British side. I want to hear from Scotland Yard or the Foreign Office. A lot of versions have been appearing in the newspapers. They are not supported by the statements of the Foreign Office," he said.
Sources close to the investigation have insisted the British authorities now have the names of those behind the poisonings.
But Prime Minister's deputy official spokesman would not confirm whether the information had been presented to the Russians.
She said: "This is an ongoing complex investigation and I can't comment on the speculation around it. We need to make sure the police have the time and space to carry on with the investigation."
An inquest into the death of Ms Sturgess was opened and adjourned on Thursday. Coroner David Ridley said the cause of death would not be given until further tests are completed.
(...)
They are trying to establish where the container, thought to be a bottle of perfume, originated from, and how Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess first encountered it.
On Wednesday, international chemical weapons experts completed their investigations in Amesbury, where they sought to identify whether the substance that poisoned the couple was from the same batch used against the Skripals.
Salisbury poisoning: Police 'identify Novichok suspects' (BBC News)
Novichok poisoning: Russian suspects in Skripal attack sent coded message saying 'The package has been delivered' (The Telegraph)
Suspects in Novichok case flew out of UK in wake of attack, source says (CNN)