Salisbury Novichok inquiry latest: Perfume that poisoned Dawn Sturgess had enough nerve agent to kill thousands

UK has accused Russian intelligence services of carrying out attack in Salisbury in 2018

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey describes being poisoned with Novichok

The public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died in the Novichok poisonings, has heard that the perfume bottle believed to have contained the nerve agent held enough to kill thousands of people.

Ms Sturgess, 44, was killed after coming into contact with the Russian-engineered nerve agent in Amesbury in July 2018.

Her contact with Novichok followed the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March that year. Police officer Nick Bailey also fell ill after becoming exposed to the chemical.

They were poisoned when members of a Russian military intelligence squad are believed to have smeared the nerve agent on Mr Skripal’s door handle. All three survived, as did Ms Sturgess’s boyfriend Charlie Rowley, who had unwittingly given her the bottle containing the killer chemical weapon.

In a new witness statement issued by Mr Skripal, the inquiry heard on Monday that the former Russian militay intelligence operative believes Vladimir Putin personally ordered the attack on his life.

The inquiry will sit all week in Salisbury.

Key Points

• Perfume bottle ‘contained enough Novichok to kill thousands of people'
• Sergei Skripal accuses Vladimir Putin of ordering attack on his life in new statement
• Dawn Sturgess may have been ‘caught in crossfire of outrageous assassination attempt’
• Theresa May says ‘justice is unlikely’ for family of Novichok victim
• ‘They said if we touched it, we would be dead’: Shop owners recall aftermath of attack

[14 October 2024 11:03 · Andy Gregory]

Inquiry hearings set to commence in Salisbury

The inquiry’s first open hearings are set to commence shortly at the Guildhall in Salisbury.

Scheduled to appear on Monday morning is counsel Andrew O’Connor KC, one of three barristers who are asking questions on behalf of the inquiry.

[14 October 2024 10:48 · Andy Gregory]

Watch: A timeline of the Salisbury attacks

[14 October 2024 10:36 · Andy Gregory]

Who is appearing at the inquiry this week?

The inquiry will sit all week in Salisbury before moving to London on 28 October.

Monday’s hearing will feature counsel to the inquiry, Andrew O’Connor KC, a barrister who has previously worked on 7/7 inquests, Hillsborough inquests, the Litvinenko Inquiry, the Manchester Arena Inquiry and the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

In the afternoon, the inquiry will also hear from core participants.

On Tuesday, the inquiry will hear evidence from Dawn’s mother Caroline Sturgess, Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills, and the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism lead, Commander Dom Murphy.

[14 October 2024 10:20 · Andy Gregory]

Why has Theresa May said it is ‘highly unlikely’ suspects will face justice?

An international arrest warrant was issued for three Russian men thought to be involved in the Novichok attacks.

But as the Russian constitution does not allow the extradition of its citizens it is unlikely they will ever stand trial, as noted by former prime minister Theresa May last week.

Two suspects gave an interview with Russian state media in which they said they were only in the UK, briefly, to visit Salisbury Cathedral, which was widely ridiculed after airing in 2018 and dubbed an “insult to the public’s intelligence” by Downing Street.

Here is The Independent’s report on the reaction to that interview:

[14 October 2024 10:04 · Andy Gregory]

Skripals excused from giving evidence due to ‘overwhelming risk’

It was previously revealed that the Skripals will not give evidence at the inquiry over fears for their safety.

In June, a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice heard that the Sturgess family wanted the Skripals to give oral evidence to address “unanswered questions”.

They were, however, excused from doing so in a subsequent ruling, with the relevant judgment citing an “overwhelming risk” of another physical attack on their lives.

[14 October 2024 09:49 · Andy Gregory]

‘No intelligence to suggest wider risk to public’ during inquiry, police say

Wiltshire Police said people in Salisbury city centre can expect to see an increased police presence for the duration of the hearing.

They added that there is “no current intelligence to suggest there is any risk to the wider public”.

Police officers could be seen walking the beat in the area close to where the inquiry will be held on Monday morning.

[14 October 2024 09:35 · Andy Gregory]

Local business owners recall aftermath of Novichok attack

Nearby business owners have recalled the aftermath of the Novichok attacks in Salisbury.

Speaking to the Salisbury Journal ahead of the public inquiry opening on Monday, makeup stall owner Brian Askew said: “The footfall of people probably went down by about 15 or 20 per cent.

“They didn’t know what it was – no one knew how bad it was. They said if we touched it, we would be dead.

“The council helped us with rent – they halved it to help us. We needed money to help us get through the hard times. Business now is as strong as it’s ever been. We went from that, to Covid, to up-doing the [paving] blocks – now hopefully we’re free.”

Mr Askew, who also sells perfume, added: “We did have people joking ‘have you got any Novichok for sale there?’”

Richard Wheeler, whose shop B&R Textiles is located just metres away from where the Skripals were found after they had been poisoned, said he did not know until he saw the news why he was unable to access his shop on the day of the incident.

“I got to work and parked where we always park and noticed I couldn’t come around the front. No one had got to work yet so I said we would meet for a coffee at Costa,” he told the paper. “We went and came back – the police couldn’t tell me what was going on but said we wouldn’t get in the shop today.”

“The local news came on and my wife said – isn’t that your shop? That’s the first I knew it was a poisoning.

“It did affect us, but after the first few days we did manage to negotiate with police to let people in the back, so we crawled along.”

[14 October 2024 09:00 · Tara Cobham]

Watch: Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey describes being poisoned with Novichok

[14 October 2024 08:30 · Tara Cobham]

Safety fears mean Skripals will not give evidence at Salisbury Novichok poisonings inquiry

A former spy and his daughter, who were poisoned by the deadly nerve agent Novichok, will not give evidence at the Russian-state Salisbury poisonings inquiry over fears for their safety.

The judge leading the inquiry said if Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are identified and their current whereabouts are discovered, the risk of an attack on them “is not properly controllable”.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being exposed to the chemical weapon which was left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in July 2018.

Ted Hennessey reports:

[14 October 2024 08:00 · Tara Cobham]

In pictures: Victims of Novichok nerve agent attacks in Salisbury in 2018

Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok (PA Media)

Yulia Skripal was found with her father both slumped on a bench in Salisbury in March 2018

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was among those poisoned by Novichok, is captured talking to his lawyer from behind bars outside a courtroom in Moscow in 2006 (AP)

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey is a Wiltshire Police officer who was exposed to the nerve agent Novichok when he rushed to the aid of the Skripals (BBC)