I think they are hiding something too. And then there's the official narrative which is so dodgy.
Brief recap:
1. Russia accused one week after incident but alleged traces of nerve agent in hotel only discovered on May 4th, two months later. Hotel isn't sealed off, investigators in hazmat suits aren't called in. Hotel manager isn't informed why his premises are being visited by police. Nobody who stayed at the hotel, and particularly in the same hotel room, is contacted as a precaution
*. Instead, some more swabs are taken, all show up negative and the conclusion becomes that all of the nerve agent was removed by the first swabs instead of false identification or inconclusive. OPCW is not called to confirm the findings.
* Important - neither for precaution NOR to try and find additional traces of nerve agent on their suitcases etc, to serve as additional evidence for their case.
2. "Track record" and "motive" wheeled out immediately. Six months later, May is asked what the motive was. She waffles a bit, then says it's up to Russia to say. Well excuse me, but you accused them of motive six months ago, so it's also up to you. If track record and motive are suddenly so obvious, how was it not so obvious all along? How can it be argued that the risk to Skripal was determined to be so low that CCTVs were not installed in his street (I do not believe this) and then do a 360 and claim track record and motive are obvious?
3. Russia is the only one with this stuff/the actual stuff came from Russia. Turned out to be rubbish. USA, UK, Czech Republic, Iran, Germany all now known to research Novichok-type nerve agents. Porton Down contradicted Boris Johnson and said they cannot tell that this was Russian-made. Foreign Office tweets deleted.
4. Here come some crazy coincidences: Big month-long chemical weapons exercise in Salisbury due to end 6th March. 4th March there's actually a chemical attack. In Salisbury. First person to attend the Skripals on the bench was a military nurse and not just any army nurse but one with experience of treating Ebola in Sierra Leone. Skripals taken to Salisbury District Hospital. Two doctors in Salisbury District Hospital, on duty at that time, are freshly returned from a two-week course on chemical weapons and their effects, and are able to diagnose possible nerve agent symptoms. The preparation for what would happen is so excellent and in stark contrast to the woeful level (alleged) of surveillance and security for the Skripals.
5. Rain washed off most of the nerve agent on the handle overnight. Story changed to: nerve agent applied in broad daylight around noon 4th March.
6. After three to four hours, Yulia and Sergei both collapse at the exact same time with neither able to call for help. But Dawn Sturgess collapses minutes later. And Charlie Rowley succumbs more than eight hours later. The details do not help explain the synchronicity of the Skripal's symptoms nor the disparity in the onset of symptoms for Dawn and Charlie. If the nerve agent actually is intentionally slow acting, then Dawn would have collapsed hours not minutes later. And if some penetrated Charlie's nervous system even after washing his hands, then the symptoms should have taken less time (around three to four hours) to begin.
6. Six months on, and still no statement from Sergei Skripal himself.
The truth is rather that some people are able to not ignore dodginess from either side, but some are incapable of admitting dodginess from one side. The latter similar to the effect whereby political affiliations blind people to their own party's sins and are only able to see the other party's sins.
@RoboCod for example.
