That's it from us here covering the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry.

The summary of today's events can be found here.

Dan O'Brien
At the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry in London

Lord Hughes finished the final public hearing warning that the next steps were “extensive and of uncertain length”.

So, what comes next?

After Christmas a select few of the inquiry team will reconvene somewhere in secret for the 'closed hearings' where more classified information will be discussed and they’ll be able to question witnesses from the security services among others.

Then Lord Hughes will spend months writing his report – anyone directly criticised will get notified and given the opportunity to respond, which may lead to further changes.

Only then, when Lord Hughes decides he is happy, is the final report signed off.

How long will that take?

"Within the course of the next year" is the only clue he gave.

The chair Lord Hughes is now thanking the inquiry.

He added there was "a good deal more to be done" and it could take up to a year for the final report to be published.

Ms Wolfe is speaking about the public health response and whether advice should have been sent out earlier.

She also acknowledged the work of the members of the public, paramedics and hospital staff.

"Together they managed to save four out of five critically ill patients in truly extraordinary circumstances and at considerable risk to their own personal safety."

We are now hearing from Georgina Wolfe, speaking on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.

She says the government believes Anatoliy Chepiga, Alexander Mishkin and Denis Sergeev were responsible for carrying out the operation.

She added it is also believed: "President Putin himself authorised the operation."

The inquiry has resumed and we've heard a very short statement from Yulia and Sergei Skripal's lawyer Jack Holborn.

He expressed their sorrow at the death for Dawn Sturgess and offered their deepest sympathies to all those impacted by the incidents.

He also said they father and daughter gave "profound gratitude" to the emergency workers who "risked their lives to help them".

The inquiry is taking a short break.

We will return in a few minutes to hear from the Skripals' lawyers and His Majesty's Government.

The ambulance service is now criticising the lack of communication from Wiltshire Police to partner agencies.

"Police were aware that chemical poisoning was a potential cause of the Skripal's condition," says Ms Nolan.

"It was SWASFT staff who actually had had hands on with the patients."

Ms Nolan now is telling the inquiry about changes that have been made at SWASFT and the wider health service since the poisonings, including further training for first responders and the application of Jesip, external.

"So much has changed in the six years since 2018."

She said, in the rare chance that something similar happens again: "We hope you will find that the country as a whole, not just the south west, is now more prepared for dealing with such an incident."

Bridget Dolan KC keeps referring to something called the Jesip principles - which is worth explaining.

She is talking about the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles.

Those principles talk about how blue light services work together, how the communicate, understand risk and have shared situational awareness.

You can find out more about it here, external.

Ms Nolan said clinical guidance and advice issued by the public health England and other organisations was all reissued to SWASFT staff.

She is now explaining that Mr Rowley was initially given the wrong medicine by ambulance staff.

Ms Nolan said the paramedic involved followed the trust's incident reporting process and "also engaged in self-reflection afterwards".

"We have taken that learning into account, to take positive action to reduce medication errors."

We now hearing from now Bridget Dolan KC, representing South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust [SWASFT].

She calls the poisonings "extraordinary incidents".

Ms Dolan said that while "thankfully" a nerve agent poisoning is not likely to take place again in the area, it doesn't meant that local public services "can be complacent".

"The [police] strategy reacted to the developing evidential picture," says James Berry.

"Inevitably there have been changes and improvements over the last six years."

He says the chief constable is committed to learning "any further lessons" from the inquiry.

"We repeat on behalf of the chief constable, our condolences to Dawn's family and friends and recognise the consequences of the poisonings for the Skripals, Detective Sergeant Bailey, Police Constable Bell and Charlie Rowley."

Mr Berry says a comment by police about Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley being "two known drug users" was "not correct in the case of Dawn".

Deputy Chief Constable Mills and Detective Sgt Lawes "have both sincerely apologised".

"It should never have happened," he said.

"There is no evidence that this mis-statement of intelligence had any impact on the police investigation or Dawn's treatment."

Mr Berry explains a check on police systems prior to officers arriving at Dawn Sturgess' partner Charlie Rowley's home flagged up of warnings markers of including drugs and "significant drugs intelligence relating to Charlie."

Inspector Andy Noble declined cordons that the ambulance service asked for and described the ambulance service's concerns as "understandable but noted the drugs information which it appears the ambulance service did not have".

"Relaying the drugs overdose was entirely appropriate," Mr Berry said, after heroin was found in Mr Rowley's blood.

However, he said: "Greater heed should have been paid to the views of the paramedics."

Mr Berry is speaking about the 'do not pick it up' advice which was issued after Ms Sturgess was poisoned with Novichok in Amesbury.

This advice was not given to the public until after Ms Sturgess used the contaminated perfume bottle.

He says: "Public health warnings were a matter for PHE [Public Health England]" and that public health decisions were being made about the incident "on a national level".

Welcome back.

The inquiry into Dawn Sturgess' death has resumed and we are now hearing from James Berry, the legal representative for Wiltshire Police.

He is speaking through the events following the poisoning of the Skripals.

He tells the hearing Mr Skripal's home was searched by officers wearing the "best PPE to be available to the police at the time".

Our reporter in London talks about what has happened in the final morning of the public part of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry.

Going back over some of the key points from the closing statements this morning.

Michael Mansfield KC says because of a lack of security, and no risk assessment of where the Skripals lived, they were "sitting ducks".

This morning we've heard for lawyers acting for the family of Dawn Sturgess.

They had praise for the paramedics who first treated Dawn after she was poisoned by Novichok, contained in a perfume bottle found by her friend Charlie Rowley.

Jesse Nicholls says they acted with "great professionalism" in trying to help Dawn.