Former Foreign Secretary: Russian Ambassador Is The Last Person Boris Johnson Should Meet

8 April 2018, 13:19 | Updated: 8 April 2018, 13:28

Sir Malcom Rifkind says Russia has been found with its fingers in the till and that the Russian ambassador is the "last person" Boris Johnson should be meeting.

The Russian embassy has requested a meeting with the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to discuss the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who are now recovering in hospital.

The pair have been in hospital for over a month after being discovered unconscious on a bench in Salisbury.

In response to the invitation to meet, the Foreign Office said it was "Russia's response that had been unsatisfactory".

Sir Malcom Rifkind, a former Foreign Secretary, told Nigel Farage the Russian ambassador is the "last person" Boris Johnson should be meeting.

"I think the Russian ambassador is probably the last person he should meet in any circumstances" he said.

"When Mr Skripal and his daughter were fighting for their lives, the current Russian ambassador in London was making jokes.

"It was a bizarre performance from an ambassador representing his government.

"Even if he wanted to pretend it wasn't the Russian government, he behaved in a disgraceful way."

Sir Rifkind also said that he didn't think Britain "jumped the gun" on blaming Russia, saying "if it looks like an elephant, behaves like an elephant, then you're pretty certain it is one."