FALSE ALARM

Salisbury, Where Russian Spy and Daughter Were Poisoned, Has New Novichok Scare

Police reportedly determined two diners who fell ill at an Italian restaurant were not exposed to the deadly nerve agent.

Authorities have reportedly determined that the deadly nerve agent novichok was not the reason two people fell ill at a British restaurant close to where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter collapsed from poisoning in the spring. The city of Salisbury went on high alert Saturday after the report of a pair of diners becoming sick at Prezzo Italian, supposedly with symptoms that could be caused by novichok. But according to The Guardian, the fears were unfounded and the city got the all-clear hours later. Prezzo Italian is close to the restaurant Zizzi, where the Skripals ate before falling ill in March. In June, another couple, Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, were also poisoned after finding a bottle that held novichok from the Skripal attack. The Skripal poisoning has been blamed on two men who are allegedly Russian military intelligence officers but who have denied involvement.