Russian agents accused of carrying out Salisbury attack. The UK’s intelligence agencies have identified two individuals, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, for the targeting of Sergei Skripal, a former GRU agent, and his daughter, Yulia, with a deadly nerve agent. Theresa May told MPs that, on the basis of the intelligence, the attack was “not a rogue operation” and had “almost certainly” been authorised by the Russian state. While an official spokesperson for the Kremlin denied the latest allegations, the UK’s allies were swift to back the Prime Minister. At the UN Security Council, the UK’s ambassador said that by “playing dice with the lives of the people of Salisbury” Russia was issuing a “direct challenge to the rules-based international system.”

MLAs’ pay to be cut by a third as Stormont stalemate passes 600 days. Annual salaries will be reduced by £15,000 in two stages, starting in November. The Secretary of State made it clear that allowances for staff would be unaffected: “I do not think that MLAs’ staff should suffer because of the politicians’ failure to form an Executive.” The move has been broadly welcomed, but it has yet to be seen whether it will incentivise the main parties to reach a deal anytime soon. In a significant development Karen Bradley also suggested that civil servants could be given more powers to take ministerial decisions in the absence of an Executive; more details will be announced in October. Ms Bradley made the news herself this week when she revealed to The House magazine how unfamiliar she had been with local politics when she took up her current position in January: “I didn’t understand things like when elections are fought for example in Northern Ireland – people who are nationalists don’t vote for unionist parties and vice-versa.”

RHI inquiry resumes, with tough questions for Jonathan Bell. The former Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment was suspended by the DUP after he claimed that Arlene Foster insisted on keeping the flawed energy scheme open, overruling his wish to close it. Mr Bell said that Timothy Cairns, his special adviser (SPAD), had also tried to delay the introduction of cost controls. Speaking before the inquiry, remarkably, the former minister admitted that he had falsely declared that he had personally selected Mr Cairns for the position, claiming instead that his party determined who his SPAD would be. Sam McBride of the News Letter summarised Jonathan Bell’s evidence as “long on anecdote, short on detail, frequently imprecise & sometimes changed.” But he added: “Some of his allegations have already been largely established by other evidence to the inquiry.”

Identify of Trump official behind anonymous letter remains a mystery. In an unprecedented display of contempt for the President by one of his own senior officials, the author of an op-ed for the New York Timesclaimed to be “part of the resistance” determined to “thwart parts of (Trump’s) agenda and his worst inclinations.” It was a damning portrayal of the Trump White House. “The root of the problem is the president’s amorality,” claimed the official. “Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making,” he or she added. Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, General James Mattis and Sarah Huckabee Sanders are some of the administration officials who have denied authorship of the article. The atmosphere in the Oval Office is likely to be particularly paranoid, given the publication of unflattering extracts from an upcoming book by veteran journalist, Bob Woodward. Fear: Trump in the White House will be published on Tuesday.

Labour Party Executive accepts full IHRA definition of antisemitism. After months of turmoil over the issue, the party’s National Executive Committee this week decided to incorporate all examples of antisemitism its definition, as put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. But Jeremy Corbyn has not yet silenced his critics. He exasperated some colleagues by proposing additional text to qualify the definition at the meeting on Tuesday, but his amendment was never formally put to a vote. Meanwhile, Tony Blair says he doubts that the Labour Party can be taken back by moderates: “I don’t think the British people will tolerate a situation where, for example, the choice at the next election is Boris Johnson versus Jeremy Corbyn. Something will fill that vacuum.”

Also published on Medium.