THE Bishop of Salisbury has has described a nerve agent attack that left two Russians and a Wiltshire Police officer in hospital as a "violation".

In an interview with ITV Meridian news reporter Fred Dinenage, the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam spoke of the resilience of the city, his concern for the victims of the attack, relationships with Russia, the importance of Christian faith in challenging times, and the challenging nature of forgiveness.

Bishop Nicholas said: “It is a violation of our community because this happened in a public place. It’s also a violation of international conventions. When spies are swapped, there’s meant to be the drawing of a line.

“This stuff must go on all the time in our world, yet we aren’t that aware of it. Something has become visible which causes all of us to be anxious, not about the locality, but about the trust we have in one another.

“The whole city has been impacted by this, and the city is a very resilient place as well. So, I have no doubts that we’ll recover. We’ll get through this and people will come here again.

“There are two people in hospital whose lives have been so badly damaged they’re still in intensive care, the policeman who came to their aid, they’re the people I care about most now. The city cares about them too, the hospital cares about them.

“The city will recover. It will take some time, but I feel very confident about Salisbury being resilient.

“Church is part of the way we build community. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Church in Russia and wondering about the relationships that we can have – not with the Russian state, that’s not my business, that’s the business of government – but with Russians. With people who are like us, who also want to live in a world where we belong together.”

When asked by Dinenage if this incident had shaken his faith, the Bishop replied:

“Why? This is a moment where Christian faith really matters, because what shows through is a God who loves us. We’re not here because we’re good, but because God loves us and cares for us, and we have a responsibility to care for one another. Love God, love your neighbour as yourself.

“Who is my neighbour? Actually, everybody is your neighbour. We have a duty and a responsibility to each other.

“What happened was a disgrace. That it happened publicly and endangered others, there’s a very clear line about the right and wrong of this.

“Is that the end of the story? Of course it’s not. We all must work out how to live together once again.

When asked if he could honestly forgive the perpetrators of a dastardly act, the Bishop replied: “It’s quite difficult in human terms, isn’t it? I think our job is to build a society that is just, where people are held to account for their actions, and where there are opportunities for building new life. Forgiveness is complex. Some judgements have to be God’s rather than ours.”