Novichok nerve agents – what are they?

Novichoks were allegedly developed by Soviet scientists at the institute in the 1970s and 1980s.Theresa May has identified the nerve agent used in the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury as a novichok.The name, meaning “newcomer”, refers to a group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s to elude international restrictions on chemical weapons.