Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Crown Copyright

A statement from Sergei Skripal is shown to the inquiry. He alleges Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the poisonings.

"It's my private opinion," a police interview transcript shows Skripal as saying.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal will not give live evidence to the public inquiry, due to concerns for their safety.

Image source, .

Imogen James
Live reporter

More questions now, outlined by Andrew O'Connor, counsel to the inquiry.

He says there is much for the chair to consider about the actions of Russians Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov on 4 March 2018 - the men the UK say are responsible for the poisonings.

"Did they place Novichok on Sergei Skripal's door handle," on the first of their trips to the area that morning, O'Connor asks.

"Was the perfume bottle that Charlie Rowley gave to Dawn Sturgess months later, with such terrible consequences brought to Salisbury on that Sunday morning by these two men?" O'Connor asks.

Image source, Crown Copyright

The inquiry is shown part of an interview given on Russian state TV by Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov after the poisonings.

In it, the two men say these are their real names - the UK says this is not true and the men are Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin.

They say they went to Salisbury as tourists, after friends told them to visit. They blame bad weather as the reason they visited the city twice from London over the two days in March.

When asked in the interview if they had the nerve agent with them, Petrov says "it's absurd".

Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Crown Copyright

The inquiry is now shown a map of Salisbury by counsel Andrew O'Connor.

The map has key points - the house where Sergei Skripal lived and the train station.

On 3 March 2018, we hear that Skripal was going to the airport to meet his daughter, Yulia.

At the same time, Russians Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov arrived in Salisbury.

The map shows they went on two separate journey's on foot that day, walking around the city.

He says the inquiry chair will have to decide why they went on this trip.

"Was it an entirely innocent day trip, or was it something more sinister?" O'Connor asks.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Crown Copyright

Andrew O'Connor KC, counsel to the inquiry, now discusses the three men at the heart of this case.

They are Russians Alexander Petrov, Ruslan Boshirov and Sergey Fedotov.

These are aliases used when entering the country, and O'Connor says for the inquiry they will be referred to using these names.

He says the inquiry will show evidence that the men are part of the GRU - the Russian intelligence agency.

O'Connor says the inquiry will show all three men arrived in London on 2 March 2018. Petrov and Boshirov arrived together at Gatwick, Fedotov arrived in Heathrow.

The inquiry will hear of their movements around London, Salisbury, and their departure.

O'Connor says Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov made two visits to Salisbury. The evidence on this will be of "critical importance," the lawyer says.

Imogen James
Live reporter

The inquiry counsel discusses the accusations from the UK that Russia is to blame.

The UK government says it is "highly likely" that Russia is responsible for the poisoning against Sergei and Yulia Skripal, O'Connor shows in evidence from a speech by former Prime Minister Theresa May.

The inquiry is then shown a letter from former UK national security adviser, Mark Sedwill, written in April 2018,

"Only Russia has the technical means, operational experience and motive for the attack on Skripals," the letter shows.

He says the inquiry will consider this "in detail".

The Russian government has responded to the poisonings, denying responsibility, the inquiry hears.

Imogen James
Live reporter

On medical treatment now, Andrew O'Connor KC tells the inquiry we will hear from medics who provided pre-hospital care and those who cared for Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley in hospital.

He says there are more questions the Sturgess family want answered.

"They seek answers as to why Dawn died, when others who were also poisoned by Novichok... did not," O'Connor says.

They have asked if this is could be about "different treatment" that Dawn Sturgess received compared to the others who were poisoned.

They also want to know why doctors "apparently" acted on information from the police that theorised Sturgess was suffering from a drug overdose, and whether this theory "was dismissed as quickly as it could have been".

They also ask whether her treatment was informed "by lessons that had been learnt... months earlier in treating the Skripals".

Ultimately, O'Connor says, they want to know if things that might have gone wrong in treatment could have changed her likelihood of survival.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Back to Dawn Sturgess now. At the time of the poisoning, she lived in Salisbury and her partner Charlie Rowley lived in Amesbury.

The inquiry hears that the day before the poisoning, on 29 June 2018, she spent the day with friends and Rowley in Salisbury, travelling back to Amesbury that evening.

Andrew O'Connor KC says there is plenty of evidence on this day, but there is "much less evidence, by contrast, about the crucial events" of the next morning.

The main evidence comes from the accounts given by Charlie Rowley.

O'Connor says it is on the morning of 30 June that Rowley gave Dawn Sturgess a perfume bottle. Rowley spilt some of the contents on himself during this process.

Sturgess later collapsed and was taken to hospital. Rowley collapsed later and was also taken to hospital.

Image source, Crown Copyright

Imogen James
Live reporter

The inquiry is now seeing CCTV evidence, showing the day that Sergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned.

We see them park their car in Salisbury, going to a pub, and then leaving.

Pictures are shown of them walking back through the town, and then sitting on the bench where they were later discovered in an unwell state.

An ambulance was called when the public realised they were in distress, counsel to the inquiry Andrew O'Connor says.

He adds they have "lengthy" transcripts of police interviews from the pair, after they recovered from the poisonings.

As a reminder, neither will be giving "live, oral evidence" to the inquiry, O'Connor says - this is because of a ruling by Lord Hughes, inquiry chair.

Image source, The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry

Imogen James
Live reporter

The counsel to the inquiry is moving on now to discuss the Skripal poisoning case.

Sergei Skripal was a man in his 60s living in a "quiet cul-de-sac", in 2018, Andrew O'Connor KC says. "He was a man with an unusual past."

He was a paratrooper in the Russian army then a member of Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, and convicted on espionage charges in 2004 in Russia.

He was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, but was given a presidential pardon in 2010 and brought to the UK. He had lived in Salisbury since 2010.

O'Connor says the inquiry will hear about the events directly leading up to when Sergei and daughter Yulia were poisoned.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Onto the circumstances and cause of Dawn's death now.

Andrew O'Connor, the inquiry lawyer, says she suffered from heart failure because of the Novichok poison.

When paramedics arrived they performed CPR and managed to re-start her heart. She was taken to hospital, he says, but the damage that was done "gradually developed and worsened".

In the end, he adds, the brain injury she sustained from a lack of oxygen during the initial period was the "immediate cause" of her death.

Imogen James
Live reporter

The counsel to the inquiry speaks now of the victim, Dawn Sturgess. He says it is important the inquiry doesn't "lose sight" of her.

Tomorrow, the inquiry will hear from Sturgess' mother, Caroline, who will speak about her daughter.

He outlines more about Dawn's life - she grew up and lived almost all her life in and near Salisbury. She had "a close and supportive family and also a strong network of friends".

The inquiry will also hear from Charlie Rowley, Dawn's partner at the time of her death.

After her death, he said that she was "a lovely lady, she had a big heart".

Her mother said Dawn was the "happiest she had been for a long time" when she was with Charlie.

Charlie Rowley was also poisoned by the nerve agent and was in hospitalised.

Imogen James
Live reporter

The counsel to the inquiry is now outlining the circumstances that led to the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, external being established.

A coroner's inquest is often set up to establish the circumstances which led to a death.

But the previous inquest into Sturgess' death was converted into an independent inquiry to allow it to have access to secret intelligence, some of which will be considered in private.

O'Connor says these documents are of "high necessity" to understand the case. He asks for the open hearings to be "as wide as possible", and for closed hearings to be "minimised".

"This inquiry... is a targeted investigation," he says, surrounding the death of Dawn Sturgess.

He tells the chair that he is performing "the role of the coroner" but with added powers.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Andrew O'Connor KC moves on to discuss the Skripal and Sturgess poisonings.

When Sturgess was poisoned four months after Sergei and Yulia Skripal, O'Connor says "the real possibility emerged that she had been caught, an innocent victim, in the crossfire of an illegal and outrageous assassination attempt".

This is up to the chair to decide, he says.

"It is not possible to inspect Dawn Sturgess' death properly, without understanding the Skripal poisoning," O'Connor adds.

There are multiple questions that need to be answered on the two cases, such as was it the same nerve agent, were there multiple containers of nerve agent, and how did it end up in Sturgess's hands, he says.

Her family are "particularly concerned" about asking whether the UK government took appropriate steps to protect Sergei Skripal from the attack, says O'Connor, and the wider public from collateral damage in the event of such an attack.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Crown Copyright

Andrew O’Connor KC, counsel to the inquiry, is on his feet.

The lawyer says the circumstances of Dawn Sturgess' death were "extraordinary".

"They were indeed unique," he adds.

He outlines Sturgess' life - she was was born in Salisbury, had three children and faced "challenges". He emphasises how she lived a normal, private life.

He says a "particularly shocking feature" of the death is that she applied the poison herself.

Sturgess was unaware of the toxicity of the liquid, which was Novichok poison.

O'Connor says the bottle contained enough poison to "kill thousands of people".

Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Crown Copyright

Lord Anthony Hughes is speaking now - he is chair of the inquiry and is outlining the case.

He says the death of Dawn Sturgess has "attracted rather less attention" than the March 2018 attempted poisonings of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

He says this "remains an investigation into the sudden death of an entirely private person".

He tells people in the Guildhall that this is "for a real family, all about a private tragedy, and a private loss".

You can follow proceedings now by clicking the Watch live button at the top of this page.

We are receiving the feed on a short delay for privacy and security reasons..

Dan O'Brien
Reporting from the inquiry

Stepping inside the Guildhall we’re greeted by a security check. It isn’t just a bag search, all the liquids are tested too.

To the left, the main hearing room. Rows of desks with legal teams and computers bearing the purple Dawn Sturgess Inquiry logo. The chair’s desk is lit up but the curtains are drawn - the main light provided by a grand chandelier in a room often used for happier occasions. In here you cannot use any sort of communication device.

To the right, an annex - where we are allowed devices and where I’m writing this - where we’ll see a feed of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry a few minutes behind what happens in the room next door, which will be cut if any secret information is accidentally disclosed.

The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry is beginning - stay with us for updates.

The inquiry has just begun in Salisbury's Guildhall.

We have a team of reporters in the building, as well as writers in our London newsroom, ready to bring you the key lines.

You can follow along by clicking the Watch live button at the top of this page. As a reminder, the feed is on a short delay due to national security.

Image source, Unknown

We already know that former Russian spy Sergei and Yulia Skripal will not give live evidence to the public inquiry, due to concerns for their safety.

The Skripals, who survived the initial attack, are living somewhere in the world under protection.

Therefore the judge presiding over the inquiry, Lord Hughes of Ombersley, has ruled they do not need to appear.

Alternative evidence will be used instead, such as police interview transcripts or written testimonies from the Skripals.

As we prepare to hear from the beginning of the inquiry into Dawn Sturgess' death, the BBC has been looking back at the twists and turns of this compelling case.

Crime Next Door: The Salisbury Poisonings is available on BBC Sounds - it features an interview from former Prime Minister Theresa May, and covers the events from 2018 to now.

The new podcast will report on the inquiry proceedings as it progresses.