The inquiry into the 2018 death of Dawn Sturgess has heard that former Russian spy Sergei Skripal believes that President Vladimir Putin was responsible for the Novichok nerve agent attack on him in Salisbury, England. Sturgess was killed by the poison, while Skripal and his daughter Yulia were seriously injured. The poison is thought to have been smeared on Skripal’s door handle by a Russian military intelligence squad. “I never thought the Russian regime would try to murder me in Great Britain,” Skripal said in a statement submitted to the inquiry. He added that he thought returning to Russia would be “dangerous”. Russia has denied involvement in the death.
Skripal also said in the statement that he had “received a presidential pardon and was a free man with no convictions under Russian law. They could have killed me easily if they wanted to when I was in prison.” Skripal added that he believed Putin made all important decisions personally and that the president “must have at least given permission for the attack.”
The inquiry will investigate whether the UK security forces took appropriate measures in 2018 to protect Skripal, who was a former senior GRU (Russian military intelligence) officer. The BBC reports that Sturgess’ family wants Putin to give evidence to the inquiry. Lawyer Michael Mansfield spoke on behalf of the family, claiming that Wiltshire Police believed Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley were suffering from drug overdoses, which affected the medical treatment they received. Rowley still experiences long-term injuries as a result of the attack, including problems with his vision, balance and memory.
The UK government expelled 23 people it described as “spies posing as diplomats” after the Salisbury attack. The move dismantled the Russian spy network in the UK, although the network was subsequently rebuilt, according to officials. Over 100 spies were expelled from Western nations in total. The Inquiry is due to move between Salisbury and London and will last several weeks
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