Image copyright Screenshot – rt

Two men named as suspects in the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in the UK have said they were merely tourists.

The humen, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told the RT channel that they went sightseeing in Salisbury but returned to London within an hour.

They are accused by the UK of trying to kill Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

The UK has described them as agents of Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU.

“The town was covered by this slush. We get wet, took the nearest train and came back” to London, they told RT, Russia's state-run international broadcaster.

What happened to the Skripals ? Skripal suspects interview: Key excerpts What is the GRU ? Image caption Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov said they were tourists visiting Salisbury