Two Russian nationals named and charged over the novichok poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury have been identified as officers from Russia's military intelligence, Theresa May has said, saying the attack was clearly authorised by Moscow. Updating the Commons after police and prosecutors said the attack appeared to have been carried out by men travelling on authentic Russian passports under the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, the prime minister promised a stern response.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was enough evidence to charge the men, who arrived in the UK on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow days before the attack. May began by outlining the "painstaking and methodical work" police work that identified the suspects, saying 25 detectives examined 11,000 hours of CCTV footage and took 1,400 statements.