Quote Originally Posted by rory_20_uk View Post
Espionage hardly works to the criminal standard of law. We do not have, and will not have for decades, what additional intelligence was provided to other countries for them to make the decision. Did, on the balance of probabilities, the Russians do it? Yes, probably. Like the other assassinations of defectors on UK soil.

Due process is and always has been an ideal as opposed to something countries follow all the time. It would be very difficult for it to be any other way.

Given France, Britain and the USA are not currently trying to bankrupt Germany and the USSR is not trying to subvert Germany I hope that there is no need for Fascism at this point in time.

I agree that it looks like the Russian MO, but that raises some questions for me:

1. Doesn't that also make it easy to frame them? Some say for example that this is also a nice distraction for May, who keeps failing in the Brexit negotiations.

2. The evidence for WMDs was also available to everyone in 2003 and it still turned out to be fake, so can these secret agencies really be trusted, especially when scientists openly say they can't trace it to Russia (or anyone)? Apparently they can be manipulated for or blinded by political goals.

3. Exactly, the known MO, why is the response so strong now given that Russia has done this before and I don't recall the enormous outrage and expelling of diplomats in the other cases?

4. I also read that the guy was previously jailed for high treason in Russia (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43291394t), so why would they kill him now in the UK if they could have done it long ago and much more quietly in Russia?