Skripal’s Niece Alleges UK ‘Must Have Something to Hide’ After Being Denied Visa
UK authorities have denied an entry visa to the niece of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal saying her visa application as it “did not comply with the Immigration Rules.”
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said to Rossiya 1 TV channel that Moscow wants London to explain why it had refused to issue a visa to Victoria Skripal, who sought to visit her cousin Yulia in the hospital of UK town of Salisbury. She also dismissed the insinuations in the UK media that Victoria Skripal is the Kremlin’s “pawn.”
Viktoria Skripal said earlier to the Sky News that “the British must have something to hide,” commenting on the visa refusal on Friday.
The UK authorities denied an entry visa to the niece of the ex-Russian spy who had been in the hospital for over a month after being found unconscious in the town of Salisbury in early March.
“We have refused a visitor visa application from Viktoria Skripal on the grounds that her application did not comply with the Immigration Rules,” a Home Office spokesman stated.
The confirmation followed a tweet by a BBC correspondent’s tweet who said that the Russian state was looking to use Yulia Skripal’s cousin as a “pawn.”Victoria Skripal earlier said she had doubts that the UK government would grant her a visa. She said on Rossiya 1 TV channel’s 60 minutes program on Thursday that she would like to go to Britain and take her cousin Yulia back home.
The Skripals have been treated in a UK hospital after being found unconscious on March 4 on a bench at a shopping center in the town of Salisbury. They are recovering and are no longer in critical condition.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has claimed that it was highly likely that Russia was behind the attack in Salisbury and expelled 23 Russian diplomats. Russian authorities have denied any involvement in the poisoning, saying there were no facts supporting the accusations.