Skripal poisoning: Putin denounces ex-spy as 'scumbag'

In a speech, he complained that the media were treating Mr Skripal as "some kind of human rights defender", insisting he had betrayed his country.

Mr Skripal and his daughter survived an attack in Salisbury, which the UK says was carried out by two agents of Russian military intelligence.

But a British woman died in another poisoning that police say was linked.

UK authorities believe Mr Skripal's door in the southern English city was targeted with the nerve agent Novichok.

It was sprayed from a modified perfume bottle that was later picked up and given to Dawn Sturgess, who died in July, they say.

• Russian woman 'identifies' Salisbury suspect
• Russian spy: What happened to the Skripals?

Last month, President Putin insisted that the suspects named by UK police were civilians not criminals, and urged them to come forward. They later gave a televised interview. 

He said on Wednesday that he thought the whole "information campaign" surrounding the former Russian spy who defected to the UK had been "blown up" and that it would pass, "the sooner, the better".

Who is Sergei Skripal? 

Mr Skripal is a former Russian intelligence officer, who was arrested in 2004 and put on trial for "high treason in the form of espionage" by a Moscow military court.

Authorities accused him of being a double-agent who shared Russian state secrets with Britain's MI6. 

He confessed and co-operated at trial and was then jailed for 13 years, but was pardoned in 2010 then released as part of a prisoner exchange.

• The former spy at centre of poison mystery
• Who is Sergei Skripal?

"I see that some of our colleagues are pushing the theory that Mr Skripal was almost some kind of human rights activist," Mr Putin said on Wednesday.

The Russian leader, a former intelligence officer himself, then described Mr Skripal as a "traitor to the motherland".

"He's simply a scumbag, that's all."

Putin goes on the attack

By Sarah Rainsford, BBC Moscow correspondent

The verbal attack on Sergei Skripal underlines Vladimir Putin's personal hatred of betrayal. He's said before it's the one thing he can't forgive. 

Many Russians share that contempt, and there was applause from some in the conference hall for the comments. But Mr Putin's outburst also seems meant to distract from increasing talk about the two key suspects in the poisoning.

Last month, at another conference, he was asked about the men. He vouched for them personally, saying there was "nothing special" and "nothing criminal" about them.

Crucially, he also insisted they were civilians. Since then, credible evidence has emerged that the men are in fact military intelligence officers and investigative journalists are still digging. On that, Vladimir Putin has so far remained silent.

Who poisoned Mr Skripal?

The UK says two Russian nationals who travelled under the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov tried to kill the ex-spy and his daughter Yulia.

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