LONDON: Britain on Wednesday said it was sure that the Russian ex-spy was attacked with nerve gas, as Moscow accused politicians and journalists of whipping up anti-Russian sentiment. Earlier, 
Interior Minister Amber Rudd said police 鈥渒now more about the substance鈥� after chairing an emergency government meeting to discuss the case of Sergei Skripal, but did not release any details of what progress had been made.
She also called for 鈥渃ool heads鈥� over the poisoning, which is already being linked with Russia by British politicians and media.
The 66-year-old Russian, who moved to Britain in a 2010 spy swap, is in a critical condition in hospital along with his daughter Yulia after they collapsed on a bench outside a shopping center in the southwestern English city of Salisbury on Sunday.
鈥淲e need to keep a cool head,鈥� said Rudd, adding that investigators would respond to 鈥渆vidence, not to rumor.鈥�
Police say they are keeping an open mind about what happened, but Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Tuesday pointed the finger at Russia.
He noted the 鈥渆choes鈥� with the 2006 poisoning in London of former Russian spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, which Britain has blamed on Moscow.
The Kremlin hit back on Wednesday, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling reporters the story 鈥渨as straight away used to boost an anti-Russian campaign in the media.鈥�
Zakharova earlier said Johnson鈥檚 comments were 鈥渨ild.鈥�
National counter-terrorism police have taken control of the case, citing the 鈥渦nusual circumstances,鈥� and opened a new crime scene on Wednesday in the nearby town of Amesbury.
鈥淭he focus at this time is to establish what has caused these people to become critically ill,鈥� said the head of the unit, assistant commissioner Mark Rowley.

Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter had lunch at a nearby restaurant before walking to the shopping center, where witnesses said they appeared 鈥渙ut of it.鈥�
Experts said the circumstances appeared to rule out radiation poisoning, as in Litvinenko鈥檚 case.
鈥淩adiation poisoning tends to take tens of hours to several days to show symptoms after exposure,鈥� said Professor Malcolm Sperrin, a medical physics expert with the state-run National Health Service.
鈥淭his may have been chemical, but we can鈥檛 be sure.鈥�
Some emergency services personnel who treated the pair required medical treatment, and The Sun tabloid reported that two police officers had itchy eyes, wheezing and rashes.
The BBC reported that without knowing the cause, the hospital treating Skripal and his daughter could only treat their symptoms, citing one source as saying that he 鈥渋s not in a good way at all.鈥�

Prime Minister Theresa May was updated on the case at a meeting of her national security council on Tuesday, but has declined to publicly comment on the ongoing investigation.
However, she confirmed the government might consider an official-level boycott of the 2018 football World Cup in Russia if it were found to have been involved.
鈥淒epending on what comes out in relation to the investigation... it might be appropriate for the government to look at whether ministers and other dignitaries should attend the World Cup in Russia,鈥� she said Wednesday.
The possible boycott 鈥� which would not include players 鈥� was first raised by Johnson on Tuesday, when he told MPs that he was not pointing fingers for Skripal鈥檚 collapse but made several references to Russia.
He warned Britain would respond 鈥渁ppropriately and robustly鈥� if a government was found responsible.
Skripal was a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who was jailed in his country for betraying agents to Britain鈥檚 MI6 secret service.
He was pardoned before being flown to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap involving Russia and the United States in 2010, and has kept a low profile since.
The Times newspaper reported that police would look into the 2012 death of Skripal鈥檚 wife from cancer, and that of his 44-year-old son last year in St. Petersburg, reportedly from liver problems.