Council denies claims ducks have been relocated from stream near spy attack site

Rumours that ducks had been moved on from the stream next to where ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found poisoned are untrue, the leader of the local authority has said.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting of Wiltshire Council, Baroness Jane Scott said that suggestions the ducks had been relocated were fiction.

She said: "No-one is feeding them so they have moved elsewhere, if someone has told you someone has taken all the ducks it's not true."

Her comments came after a member of the public questioned whether the council had been aware if an ex-spy had been living in Salisbury or whether the authority had knowledge of any other espionage figures living within the city.

Baroness Scott said: "Two people are seriously ill in hospital, our thoughts should be with them.

"This father had made his home in this city, we do need to give them some thought.

"I do not know if we will ever know who is living here but I think that is a bit Big Brother to me."