Salisbury attack: Public inquiry into Novichok death delayed

Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with the nerve agent on a discarded perfume bottle

The public inquiry into the death of Novichok poisoning victim Dawn Sturgess has been delayed.

She died after coming into contact with the nerve agent used to target former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018.

Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered the public inquiry after suggestions of Russian intelligence involvement.

Coroner Baroness Heather Hallett said she shared the "frustration" of Ms Sturgess' family over the delay.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital after she and her partner Charlie Rowley became seriously ill in Amesbury.

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

Speaking at what was intended to be the inquiry's first hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, the coroner, who has now been appointed to lead the Covid-19 inquiry, was told her successor had still not been appointed, resulting in further delays.

"It is, I have to say, a disappointment to me to be sitting here today with no inquiry set up and no judge appointed to lead it," said Lady Hallett.

The 2018 Novichok attack affected Salisbury and nearby Amesbury

Michael Mansfield QC, representing the victim's family and Ms Sturgess' partner Mr Rowley, said the Russian invasion of Ukraine this week underlined the need to progress with the inquiry.

"As of today, or yesterday, there is a poignancy about what is happening in Ukraine and eastern Europe at the moment, for the necessity of this inquiry not losing a single day," he told the 30-minute hearing.

'Frustration' of victim's family

Lady Hallett said that many other people affected by the incident have a right to have the proceedings heard as soon as possible.

"I have seen a letter from Birnberg Peirce, the solicitors who represent the Sturgess family and also Mr Rowley, expressing a degree of frustration at the delay - that is a frustration that I share," she said.

Ben Watson QC, counsel for the Government, said a chairman was expected to be appointed in the next two weeks.

He said it was "regrettable" the appointment had not been made, and added that "recent events" had increased demands on the Government.

Mr Skripal, his daughter and Det Sgt Bailey were poisoned in Salisbury in March 2018 when members of a Russian military intelligence squad are believed to have smeared the deadly nerve agent on Mr Skripal's door handle.

All three survived, as did Mr Rowley. Ms Sturgess died in July despite several days in hospital after falling ill on 30 June.

The Metropolitan Police have identified three suspects wanted in connection with the poisonings: Denis Sergeev, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, who used the aliases Sergey Fedotov, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov respectively while in the UK.

Police have appealed to the public for information about how the perfume bottle came to be found eight miles from Salisbury, and where it was stored between the departure of the would-be assassins from the UK in March and its discovery three months later.