U.K. Couple Exposed to Deadly Soviet-Era Chemical Weapon
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN's the world with me, Becky Anderson. It's 19 minutes past 7:00, in the UAE we're broadcasting from our Middle East hub for you. In Britain authorities --</s>ANDERSON: -- are still looking at various scenarios for the poisoning of a couple in Amesbury, in the southwest. It isn't clear whether the chemical Novichok made them critically ill came from the same batch that poisoned ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in a nearby town in March. Russia has been widely blamed for that Skripal attack and still denies it. Today the Kremlin called on the U.K. to, quote, "stop playing games with poisonous chemicals." So what exactly is Novichok and how long can it stay deadly? Hamish de Bretton-Gordon was commander of the British Chemical and Biological Counterterrorism Forces, joins us now today via Skype. What do you make of this news, sir?</s>HAMISH DE BRETTON-GORDON, SECUREBIO LIMITED: First of all, the Novichok that is involved, this is a very, very toxic nerve agent, was used in a potential attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal four months ago. It would appear that a residue or debris from that attack has reappeared in Salisbury in the last three or four days and the two people who are seriously in hospital have come into contact with it. It is a very difficult-to-detect nerve age and it's very persistent. And that is the challenge facing the police and the emergency services in Salisbury and Amesbury at the moment.</s>ANDERSON: There are no connections, as of yet, as far as we understand, between the Skripals and this couple. So what would be the most plausible working assumption at this point?</s>BRETTON-GORDON: I think you're right there. This couple do not seem to be a couple who would be assassinated by the Russians or any other state. And it does appear to be very bad luck, in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think the best assumption is that the assailants or assailant who attacked Colonel Skripal, when they fled the scene, fled the area, discarded some, probably a syringe or a container that held the Novichok or precursors required to mix the Novichok and probably hoped that they would chuck them in the Avon River that runs alongside the Queen Elizabeth Gardens and it would be out to sea before anybody knew about it. Now that didn't happen and that container, I think, appears to have reappeared and, in some form or other, the couple have been in contact with it. And that has poisoned them quite severely.</s>ANDERSON: Let's just remind our viewers of a little more about Novichok. It is even more sophisticated and dangerous than sarin, as I understand it. The Soviet Union developing it in a secret program during the Cold War. And it has no color, as you rightly pointed out, odor or taste, which makes it easy to transport. Developed by the Russians to overmatch the U.K., U.S. and NATO military capabilities to defend against it. And as we've seen, it's a very potent weapon and perhaps, as you have pointed out, the Russians feel they have a slight advantage with this. I mean, that's certainly what you have said in the past. Just fill us in a little bit more.</s>BRETTON-GORDON: Well, I think if we look at chemical weapons strategically, I think because red lines have been missed, particular with a major attack in Syria in 2013, people have thought that chemical weapons are now normalized and fair game. Now the Russians have not only during the Soviet Union period but, recently, we understand, have been developing these Novichoks, which overmatch NATO's defensive capabilities. We know that NATO vastly overmatches the Russians conventionally. But for these asymmetric weapons, we don't. So I think it's not just -- it's a huge concern that the Russians feel happy to use these chemical weapons on the soil of a NATO country. But if there is an East-West standoff and the Cold War develops any further, this is something that they have an advantage over us.</s>ANDERSON: Hamish, the chief medical officer here in the U.K. has said that the threat to the population of Salisbury is low. Authorities have said there isn't a wider public health issue here. But clearly, understandably, people are in the area, very concerned. Should they be?</s>BRETTON-GORDON: No, I don't think they should be. I do agree with the chief medical officer, the threat, the wider threat is low. I think that probably less than a quarter of an eggcup of Novichok was used in the Skripal attack. And I think, from what was recovered on the door handle and probably what was recovered the other day from the Queen Elizabeth Gardens, that is pretty much all of it. However, there might still be, you know, molecules left around. The challenge is --</s>BRETTON-GORDON: -- it's very difficult to detect. And that is the problem that the authorities are having. And I think also, the messaging has not been great from the British government. Our experience in Syria with the civilians that we advise there about chemical attack, we tell them every bit of information we can and they act accordingly. In this case, the government has told people what to do but not necessarily why they're doing it. And I think that's created uncertainty. But I live very close to Salisbury and I have absolutely no concerns about going anywhere at the moment. I think the threat is over. The investigation must go forward and, hopefully, these two people will be -- will be cured in Salisbury of this desperately dangerous toxic substance.</s>ANDERSON: Sounds like they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we'll learn more as the days go on, I assume. Hamish de Bretton- Gordon, thank you for insight tonight.</s>BRETTON-GORDON: Thank you.</s>ANDERSON: Well, just ahead, is Trump causing more chaos in an already volatile oil market? That's up next.