An expert writes on how the Skripals survived

Most of us are not experts on the effects of nerve agents, but having read that the Novichok agent used in the Salisbury attack was one of the most dangerous known, we will have been pleasantly surprised that the affected policeman and the targets all appear to have survived.

Politics Today has published an interesting article by Dan Kaszeta who is a London-based consultant in security and chemical defence. He has 27 years experience in the field, with roles in the US Army, the White House, the US Secret Service, and private industry, called

"Myth busting: why didn't the Skripals die on the spot?"

He explains the difference between how lethal these chemicals are when tested in the laboratory and what happens when somebody tries to use them for real in the rather less precisely controlled world outside a lab.

He concludes

"Having worked in chemical warfare defence for 27 years, the survival of Sergei and Yulia Skripal are no surprise to me."

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