Man Arrested After Police Manning Salisbury Cordon ‘Abused And Assaulted’

A man has been arrested after police officers manning cordons put in place in Salisbury following the nerve agent attack were allegedly abused and assaulted.

Uniformed officers are assisting with the investigation into the poisonings of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia.

Wiltshire Police said the incident happened when the officers attended a report of a man behaving aggressively nearby.

A 56-year-old man, from Salisbury, was arrested at about 5pm on Monday in Castle Street, close to the cordon around Zizzi’s restaurant.

Wiltshire Police said a man has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, assaulting a police officer and a racially-aggravated public order offence. He remains in police custody.

Police officers on duty outside a Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Police officers on duty outside Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Inspector Pete Sparrow said: “Our officers are not just stood on cordons in Salisbury, they are still operational police officers and will deal with offences robustly.

“The vast majority of the community of Salisbury have been overwhelmingly polite and welcoming to not only Wiltshire Police officers, but others from across the UK who are providing assistance.

“However, we will not tolerate any aggressive or abusive behaviour towards our officers.”