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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/09/novichok-wiltshire-death-dawn-sturgess-highly-likely-same-batch-used-on-skripals
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| Novichok in Wiltshire death 'highly likely' from batch used on Skripals | Novichok in Wiltshire death 'highly likely' from batch used on Skripals |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Britain’s counter-terrorism chief has said it is highly likely the novichok that killed Dawn Sturgess in Wiltshire came from the same batch used four months earlier to attack a former Russian spy and his daughter at their Salisbury home. | Britain’s counter-terrorism chief has said it is highly likely the novichok that killed Dawn Sturgess in Wiltshire came from the same batch used four months earlier to attack a former Russian spy and his daughter at their Salisbury home. |
| The Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Neil Basu also said the substance that led to Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley falling ill on Saturday was in a vessel or container when the couple came across it. | |
| Police have opened a murder investigation after Sturgess died in hospital on Sunday at 8.26pm. Basu said: “It is both shocking and utterly appalling that a British citizen has died having being exposed to a Novichok nerve agent. | |
| “But make no mistake, we’re determined to find out how Dawn and her partner, Charlie Rowley, came into contact with such a deadly substance; and we will do everything we possibly can to bring those responsible to justice.” | |
| Basu said Sturgess and Rowley got a high dose of novichok after handling a container containing the nerve agent. It was most likely that the container police are hunting for was linked to the attack four months earlier on the Skripals. | |
| He said detectives would need forensic evidence before definitively saying the novichok used in the first attack had made the British couple ill. | |
| Basu said of his detectives: “They are unable to say at this moment whether or not the nerve agent found in this incident is linked to the attack on Sergei and Julia Skripal. However, this remains our main line of inquiry.” | |
| He added: “In the four months since the Skripals and Nick Bailey were poisoned, no other people besides Dawn and Charlie have presented with symptoms. Their reaction is so severe it resulted in Dawn’s death and Charlie being critically ill. This means they must have got a high dose. Our hypothesis is they must have handled the container we are now seeking.” | |
| Out of a series of sites cordoned off, the three of most interest are Queen Elizabeth gardens in Salisbury, where the British couple spent part of Friday. Also of interest is the Salisbury homeless hostel where Sturgess lived and both visited on Friday. They then took a bus to Rowley’s Amesbury home, which is the third main site of interest. | |
| The home secretary, Sajid Javid, was chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergencies committee on Monday and was due to update MPs in the Commons later in the day. | |
| The decision by Basu, who heads Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, to link the two attacks on Monday increases the pressure on Russia. | The decision by Basu, who heads Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, to link the two attacks on Monday increases the pressure on Russia. |
| Britain has blamed Moscow for the attack on Sergei and Julia Skripal in March. Sturgess died in hospital on Sunday and Charlie Rowley, her partner, remains critically ill. | Britain has blamed Moscow for the attack on Sergei and Julia Skripal in March. Sturgess died in hospital on Sunday and Charlie Rowley, her partner, remains critically ill. |
| A relative at Sturgess’s family home in Durrington, near Amesbury, said the family was “devastated” but declined to comment further. | A relative at Sturgess’s family home in Durrington, near Amesbury, said the family was “devastated” but declined to comment further. |
| Service personnel wearing protective gloves and breathing apparatus towed a red van away from a road in Durrington on Sunday night. Police officers had stood guard near the van in Avondown Road on Sunday, neighbours said. | Service personnel wearing protective gloves and breathing apparatus towed a red van away from a road in Durrington on Sunday night. Police officers had stood guard near the van in Avondown Road on Sunday, neighbours said. |
| On Sunday night, the road was cordoned off and members of the RAF Regiment arrived in protective gear. They wrapped the van in plastic, loaded it on to a military lorry and drove it away. | On Sunday night, the road was cordoned off and members of the RAF Regiment arrived in protective gear. They wrapped the van in plastic, loaded it on to a military lorry and drove it away. |
| The van has been sent for tests at Porton Down. Three other occupants have been examined by doctors and were showing no signs of exposure to the nerve agent. | |
| The road is close to where Sturgess’s parents live and two miles from Amesbury. Neighbours said they did not know to whom the van belonged. | The road is close to where Sturgess’s parents live and two miles from Amesbury. Neighbours said they did not know to whom the van belonged. |
| There is growing unease among some people in Salisbury and Amesbury that they are not being given enough information. | There is growing unease among some people in Salisbury and Amesbury that they are not being given enough information. |
| Ricky Rogers, a Wiltshire councillor andthe leader of the Labour group on Wiltshire council, said the death of Sturgess had “heightened tension”. | Ricky Rogers, a Wiltshire councillor andthe leader of the Labour group on Wiltshire council, said the death of Sturgess had “heightened tension”. |
| “Local residents have never been told enough about the first incident back in March. I think someone from counter-terrorism needs to come here and tell us what they know,” he said. | “Local residents have never been told enough about the first incident back in March. I think someone from counter-terrorism needs to come here and tell us what they know,” he said. |
| UK security and counter-terrorism | UK security and counter-terrorism |
| Sergei Skripal | Sergei Skripal |
| Metropolitan police | Metropolitan police |
| Police | Police |
| news | news |
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