JEREMY Corbyn has stoked a furious row at Westminster over his response to the Russian chemical attack after his office suggested there was a "problematic" history over the use of British intelligence.

While Theresa May won praise from both sides of the Commons chamber for her robust reaction to Moscow’s “culpability” for the Salisbury incident, which included the expulsion of 23 Russian spies, the Labour leader and his spokesman, Seumas Milne, in their responses sparked anger and dismay not only from Tory benches but also Labour ones.

The row erupted as Russia warned of retaliation, branding the UK Government’s actions provocative. It said the expulsion of its diplomats was a totally unjustified “hostile action”.

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But at the United Nations in New York last night Nikki Haley, the US ambassador, branded the Salisbury attack “Russia’s crime,” and told the Security Council: “If we don't take immediate concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place that we see chemical weapons used.”

Earlier at Westminster, the Prime Minister told MPs that after Russia had failed to produce a credible response ahead of the midnight deadline there was “no alternative conclusion other” than that the Russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

"This,” she declared, “represents an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom."

Mr Corbyn condemned the "appalling act of violence,” telling MPs: “Nerve agents are abominable if used in any war; it is utterly reckless to use them in a civilian environment.”

But he stopped short of echoing Mrs May’s line on directly blaming the Putin Government and again called for UK ministers to continue "robust dialogue" with Moscow.

When the Labour leader insisted it was a "matter of huge regret" diplomatic service budgets had been cut, he was met with shouts from Conservative MPs of “disgrace”.

Tory MP Mark Francois branded Mr Corbyn "a CND badge-wearing apologist for the Russian state" while the DUP’s Sammy Wilson accused the Labour leader of appeasement – charges the Labour leader’s office dismissed as hysterical nonsense.

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By contrast, Conservative MPs cheered Ian Blackford, the SNP leader, who condemned the “unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the UK,” saying his party would work constructively with the UK Government. “There has to be a robust response to the use of terror on our streets,” he declared.

Tory MPs responded by shouting to the Labour frontbench: "That's how you do it."

In a briefing following the initial Commons exchanges, the Labour leader’s spokesman suggested the party leadership did not believe there was enough evidence yet to blame the Russian state directly for the nerve agent attack.

He confirmed the Labour leader had had security briefings about the Salisbury incident but noted how the Government might have more information it had not disclosed.

He told reporters: "The Government has access to information and intelligence on this matter which others don't. However, also there is a history in relation to weapons of mass destruction and intelligence which is problematic, to put it mildly.”

The spokesman said the evidence pointed "overwhelmingly" to the two options set out by the PM: either it was an attack directed by Moscow or Russia had lost control of its chemical arsenal.

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But pressed on whether another former Soviet state, such as Ukraine, could be the origin of the nerve agent, he replied: "The second option Theresa May set out on Monday and again today - that the Russian Government had lost control of weapons grade nerve agents which may have been produced during the Soviet period - contains within it a series of different possibilities of who then might have been directly responsible for that.

"If the material is from the Soviet period, the break-up of the Soviet state led to all sorts of military material ending up in random hands."

He added: “It is essential we follow the evidence and what the evidence produces.”

The remarks were raised in the Commons chamber where the PM was still responding to MPs’ questions. She condemned them as "shocking" and "outrageous" and suggested Labour MPs who supported her approach would condemn them too.

"They stand full-square behind the Government in the analysis that we have shown and the action that we have taken," she added.

The comments from Mr Corbyn’s spokesman prompted Labour backbencher John Woodcock to table a parliamentary motion "unequivocally" accepting the "Russian state's culpability" for the attack and supporting "fully" Mrs May’s Commons statement.

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The motion was swiftly signed by a number of prominent critics of Mr Corbyn, some of whom went public with their criticism of the leader's senior aide.

Labour MP Anna Turley tweeted: "I'm afraid Seumas doesn't speak for my Labour or British values" while Chuka Umunna, the former Shadow Business Secretary, said: "Mr Milne's comments do not represent the views of the majority of our voters, members or MPs."