Theresa May said she hoped the loved ones of Dawn Sturgess, who was killed after coming into contact the deadly nerve agent, ‘will take some comfort’ from the investigation
Victims of the Salisbury poisonings are “unlikely” to get justice, Theresa May has said.
Ahead of an independent probe into the Novichok nerve agent attacks in 2018, the former Prime Minister accused the Russian perpetrators of “utter recklessness”. “You felt they just didn’t care about anything,” she said.
She told the BBC that she hopes the loved ones of Dawn Sturgess, who was killed after coming into contact with the chemical weapon, “will take some comfort” from the investigation into her death. But Baroness May admitted they were unlikely to get justice.
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was the target of the attack in March 2018, where the military-grade nerve agent was smeared on his door. He and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury, while former police officer Nick Bailey, who attended the scene, was also poisoned.
All three survived but Ms Sturgess, a 44-year-old mum of three, died in nearby Amesbury in July 2018 after she unwittingly sprayed the chemical on her hands and face. Her boyfriend Charlie Rowley, who survived the attack, had unknowingly given her a Nina Ricci perfume bottle containing the substance which he had found in a charity shop bin.
In an interview with the BBC’s Crime Next Door: Salisbury Poisonings podcast, Baroness May said: “I would hope by the end of it (the inquiry) the family and friends of Dawn Sturgess feel it has got to the truth.”
But Ms May, who was PM at the time of the attack, said that “closure to all the people affected would only finally come with justice, and that justice is highly unlikely to happen”.
An international arrest warrant was issued for three Russian men thought to be involved in the attacks on British soil, but as the Russian constitution does not allow the extradition of its citizens it is unlikely they will ever stand trial.
The Skripals, who went into hiding after the incident, will not give evidence at the inquiry next week over fears for their safety.
Wiltshire Police said people in Salisbury city centre can expect to see an increased police presence for the duration of the hearing but there was “no current intelligence to suggest there is any risk to the wider public”.
Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “Residents will see an increased, but proportionate policing presence in, and around, Salisbury city centre and the Guildhall while the inquiry sits here. This is a precautionary measure only, with nothing to suggest any wider risk to our communities, to enable Wiltshire Police to keep all our communities safe.”
In June, a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice heard that the Sturgess family wanted the Skripals to give oral evidence to address “unanswered questions”.
They were, however, excused from doing so in a subsequent ruling, with the relevant judgement citing an “overwhelming risk” of another physical attack on their lives.
The public inquiry hearing is due to begin at The Guildhall in Salisbury on October 14.
