At Site of U.K. Poisoning, Doubts About Case Creep In<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SALISBURY, ENGLAND \u2014 After Sergei V. Skripal, her Russian neighbor, was poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent, Lisa Carey pricked her ears for any information about this bizarre series of events.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Three and a half months later, Ms. Carey, 45, a resident of Salisbury, England, where the attack on the former Russian spy occurred, has come to a firm conclusion: Russia\u2019s president, Vladimir V. Putin, whom Britain holds responsible for the poisoning, would never have ordered an assassination on the eve of a national election or the World Cup.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Putin is \u201cnot a silly man,\u201d she says. If he wants someone dead, she added, they end up dead. \u201cSomeone stitched him up,\u201d she wrote recently. \u201cWhoever did this made it look like Putin did it.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Though Ms. Carey\u2019s opinion is not a common one in Salisbury, she\u2019s not alone, either.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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During the days after Mr. Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious, the British government seemed to be winning the public relations war, mobilizing its allies in a united front against Russia.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Theresa May\u2019s government presented its case for Russia\u2019s guilt, and by the end of March 25, countries had lined up in support, expelling more than 100 Russian diplomats. In a YouGov poll released on April 3, three-quarters of Britons were relatively confident that Russia was responsible.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the weeks that followed, though, Britain\u2019s control over the narrative slipped away.<\/em>
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\n\u201cThe English people believe it\u2019s the Russians,\u201d he said, but \u201call those other British people, the Scottish, the Irish, the Welsh,\u201d were more skeptical. \u201cTo be honest with you, they don\u2019t trust England,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Another driver, Steve Odendaal, who is native to Zimbabwe, said the attack could not have been a Russian government operation because it was \u201ctoo clumsy and too careless.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even among those with full confidence in the government case, the episode has left a residue of confusion and mistrust.<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n