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Russian oligarch’s chauffeur’s collapse sparks fears of poison attack in heart of Mayfair

The driver of a “high profile” Russian couple collapsed and died in the street outside an exclusive members’ club sparking fears of a poison attack similar to Salisbury.

Police and paramedics rushed to Mayfair in the heart of London amid fears it could be another poison attack following the incident involving former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The pair were poisoned with up to 100 milligrams of the nerve agent novichok.

Passersby by were seen to do CPR on the man who had chauffeured the couple to Oswald’s Club, it is believed.

Tonight police erected a tent over the man’s body within a large police cordon but ruled out poisoning .

He was pronounced dead at the scene after a suspected heart attack.

An eyewitness said: “It was the driver of a Russian couple who were going into Oswald’s members bar.

“He drove them outside, they got out and then he also got out and collapsed.

“Some people were seen giving him CPR, so I think he may have had a heart attack.”

The man was treated near a Mercedes limousine with black out rear windows in Albermarle Styreet, near the junction with Grafton Street.

The black Mercedes did not have diplomatic plates and was parked outside top jewellers Garrard and opposite Asprey.

Scotland Yard said: “At approximately 3.15pm on Thursday, 21 June, police responded to a call from the London Ambulance Service (LAS) relating to a man taken ill on Albemarle Street in Mayfair.

“Officers attended the scene. At the location they found a man being treated by the LAS. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

“Due to concerns the victim may have been exposed to a poison, specialist officers attended but found no evidence that would indicate the victim had been poisoned.

“There are no other reports of people being taken ill.

“Cordons were put in place around the area to allow the emergency services to carry out their work.”

Joe Mellor

Head of Content

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