Dawn Sturgess public inquiry to be held into Novichok death

Dawn Sturgess was not the target of the attack but came into contact with the nerve agent accidentally

A public inquiry will be held into the death of Novichok poisoning victim Dawn Sturgess, the home secretary says.

Priti Patel said Ms Sturgess's inquest could be converted into a public inquiry to examine any Russian involvement in her death in 2018.

Ms Sturgess, 44, died after coming into contact with the nerve agent used to target former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Ms Patel said she hoped the inquiry would "bring comfort" to the family.

Ms Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley became seriously ill following exposure to Novichok on a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury in Wiltshire. She died in hospital on 8 July.

• Novichok attack: What happened?

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Their poisoning followed the attempted murder of Mr Skripal, his daughter and ex-police officer Nick Bailey in nearby Salisbury.

The attack was blamed on members of a Russian military intelligence squad who were believed to have smeared Novichok on Mr Skripal's door handle.

All three survived, as did Mr Rowley.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia survived the poisoning attempt

The inquiry is likely to be held in Salisbury Guildhall and at venues in London, and be established "as soon as is reasonably possible in 2022", Ms Patel said.

In a letter to coroner Baroness Heather Hallett, Ms Patel wrote: "I am mindful of the time that has already passed since Ms Sturgess' death and her family's understandable wish for the investigation to be completed as soon as the circumstances of a highly complex and sensitive investigation allow.

"I support your view that the inquiry should be timely and hope that a proportionate, independent investigation will allow that to be met."

She said of Ms Sturgess' family: "I hope this inquiry will bring comfort to them through a greater understanding of the circumstances of Ms Sturgess' death and recognise the bravery and resilience of those who responded."

Ms Sturgess's father, Stan Sturgess, said: "We welcome the decision."

"Our legal team has worked tirelessly on our behalf and hopefully in the near future we will finally have closure."

A further pre-inquest review is planned for next month.

The Metropolitan Police have identified three suspects wanted in connection with the poisonings: Denis Sergeev, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga.

While they were in the UK they used the aliases Sergey Fedotov, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

Police have appealed to the public for any information about how the perfume bottle came to be found three months later eight miles (12.8km) from Salisbury.

Officers believe the three suspects identified so far are in Russia.

The UK has no extradition treaty with Russia meaning there is little prospect of the suspects being brought to the UK to face justice.