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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/11/novichok-victim-charlie-rowley-speaks-to-police-nerve-agent

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Novichok victim out of critical condition and speaking to police Novichok victim out of critical condition and speaking to police
(about 2 hours later)
The Wiltshire man poisoned by novichok is no longer in a critical condition and has begun talking to detectives who are trying to find the source and location of the nerve agent. A Wiltshire man poisoned by novichok has begun talking to detectives who are racing to find the source of the nerve agent as public health officials prepared to visit schools to warn children about the crisis.
Charlie Rowley, 45, spent days in a coma after being taken seriously ill on 30 June. Salisbury district hospital’s nursing director, Lorna Wilkinson, said he had made further progress overnight. Charlie Rowley spent days in a coma after being taken seriously ill on 30 June at his home in Amesbury, Wiltshire. It is not known if he has been told that his partner, Dawn Sturgess, has died after being exposed to novichok.
“He is no longer in a critical condition. His condition is now serious but stable. Our staff will continue to work hard to provide the care that Charlie needs. Charlie still has some way to go to recover but the progress we’ve seen so far gives us cause for optimism.”
Rowley is under guard in hospital and may have information with significant implications for public safety, national security and UK relations with Russia, which has been blamed for the use of novichok on British soil.Rowley is under guard in hospital and may have information with significant implications for public safety, national security and UK relations with Russia, which has been blamed for the use of novichok on British soil.
Detectives from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command believe they may have to wait days for Rowley to regain his memory and the ability to focus on the questions he is being asked.Detectives from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command believe they may have to wait days for Rowley to regain his memory and the ability to focus on the questions he is being asked.
The crucial question is when and where he came across a container containing novichok. Rowley and his partner, Dawn Sturgess, handled the small container, made of glass, plastic or metal, which led to them falling ill on Saturday. Sturgess, 44, died on Sunday evening. The crucial question is when and where he came across a container containing novichok. Rowley and Sturgess handled the small container, made of glass, plastic or metal, which led to them falling ill on Saturday.
Rowley was described as very tired and groggy due to the effects of the nerve agent.Rowley was described as very tired and groggy due to the effects of the nerve agent.
Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command said: “Officers from the investigation team have spoken briefly to Charlie and will be looking to further speak with him in the coming days as they continue to try to establish how he and Dawn came to be contaminated with the nerve agent.Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command said: “Officers from the investigation team have spoken briefly to Charlie and will be looking to further speak with him in the coming days as they continue to try to establish how he and Dawn came to be contaminated with the nerve agent.
“Any contact officers have with Charlie will be done in close consultation with the hospital and his doctors. We will not be providing further commentary around our contact with Charlie.”“Any contact officers have with Charlie will be done in close consultation with the hospital and his doctors. We will not be providing further commentary around our contact with Charlie.”
Four months ago novichok was used to try to kill a Russian former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, at their Salisbury home. Salisbury district hospital’s nursing director, Lorna Wilkinson, said: “He is no longer in a critical condition. His condition is now serious but stable. Our staff will continue to work hard to provide the care that Charlie needs. Charlie still has some way to go to recover but the progress we’ve seen so far gives us cause for optimism.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer has said the nerve agent could remain effective for up to 50 years if it is in a container. Four months ago novichok was used to try to kill a Russian former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, at their Salisbury home. Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, Neil Basu, said no forensic link between the two incidents had yet been found but added it was implausible there was no connection.
Neil Basu told a packed public meeting in Amesbury on Tuesday night that no forensic link had been established between the novichok that poisoned Sturgess and Rowley, and that which led to the collapse of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia – and it was possible a scientific link is never established. Basu, an assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan police who leads the police counter-terrorism network, said that if it was in a container, the novichok could remain active for half a century.
But Basu, an assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan police who leads the police counter-terrorism network, said he believed it was implausible there was no connection between the two incidents. Until the source of the poisoning is found, people in Salisbury and Amesbury are being told not to pick up anything they have not dropped themselves.
He said it was possible the pair had picked up a container of novichok at the time of the Skripal attack in March but had only now opened it. He accepted there could even be several containers of novichok – but it was impossible to know. The message is to be repeated in local schools. The leader of Wiltshire council, Baroness Jane Scott, said: “We are going out to schools this week offering advice and support.” She said local public health officials would visit schools to warn them about the dangers of handling discarded objects. “We need to make sure all those children understand,” she said.
Basu also said for the first time that a “particular” area of Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, rather than the whole park, was a focus. He said it would be several more weeks, if not months, before the investigation was over. Meanwhile, the government has announced extra funding totalling more than £5m to help south Wiltshire recover after the poisonings. The funding includes money to revive tourism and make up for income lost by local businesses as a result of the novichok attack.
Basu also gave more detail on the attack on the Skripals. “They had no idea they were being targeted,” he said. “They had no idea they had been contaminated.” The prime minister, Theresa May, said: “The people of Salisbury and Amesbury have shown incredible resilience, both since March and in light of last week’s tragic events.
He reiterated that police believed the place where they had been poisoned was their front door. “The government will stand in full support of the local community and this funding package will ensure ongoing response and recovery needs are met.
Basu also said he did not believe there was much novichok in Salisbury – because the attackers would have been “foolish” to carry a large amount in. He said he did not believe Sturgess and Rowley were targeted. “I think they are the unluckiest people ever,” he added. “We will continue to work closely with local partners in south Wiltshire on the long-term recovery from these terrible incidents.”
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