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POLICE IN ENGLAND say they are continuing to investigate whether the death of a woman last week due to exposure to a nerve agent is linked to the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter.
Dawn Sturgess died last Sunday after collapsing in the home she shared with her partner, Charlie Rowley, on Saturday 30 June.
45-year-old Rowley himself was taken to hospital in a critical condition. He has since regained consciousness and is described as being in a “serious but stable” condition.
The Met Police says that it is continuing to investigate whether the death is linked to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Sturgess and Rowley’s home in Amesbury is seven miles northeast of Salisbury, where former Russian agent Skripal and his daughter were struck down by the nerve agent Novichok on a public street in March of this year.
Police say they have linked the nerve agent to a small bottle in Sturgess’ house.
They say that 400 items in total have been collected.
Searches are still expected to continue for several weeks, if not months as officers look to identify any other potential sites or sources of contamination, as well as gather further evidence to assist with their investigation.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, National Lead for Counter Terrorism (CT) Policing in the UK said: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the search process linked with both this and the Salisbury investigation has been one of the most complex and difficult that UK policing has ever faced.
“The work being carried out is extremely important. Not only are we trying to solve an extremely serious crime that has been committed, but we’re also working to identify any potential outstanding risks to the public; all whilst ensuring that all those involved in the search process are not themselves exposed to any risk of contamination.
“It is painstaking and vital work, which unfortunately takes a very long time to complete, but I am sure that the public understands why it is absolutely necessary.”
Police say that work is ongoing to establish whether the nerve agent is from the same batch as used in the attack against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March, and this remains a main line of enquiry for the investigation team.
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There’s absolutely no need to investigate this when we have thejournal.ie comments’ section.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: There’s absolutely no need to investigate this when we already know what conclusion will be reached no matter what they find or fail to find
@JimmyMc: Refer to my original post. You’ve already reached your own conclusion without any evidence.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: the conclusion will be that it’s the same nerve agent that orignated in Russia and it was probably discarded by the Russians after they probably poisoned the Skripals
@JimmyMc: It’s very likely that will be the outcome, though not guaranteed. You, however, are 100% certain. Could I have tonight’s lotto numbers, please, seeing as how you can see into the future with 100% certainty?
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: unfortunately the lotto numbers are not as predictable as thebBritish
They will never admit it came from Porton Downs !
@Martin Sinnott:
If you have the evidence that it did you’d better pass it on to the OPCW….
It couldn’t be Russia. They would never try poison a political opponent. That has never happened before, right?
@Seán Ó Briain: media are totally out of their depth on this one. Secret services are well used to misleading the media. Wouldn’t believe a word that either side says.
The discovery of the container will advance the investigation leaps and bounds. With the boyfriend surviving he may be able to shed light on where the other victim found it. With that and the timeline of the Skripal case they may be able to get some sort of identification with CCTV on who was at the location where the container was dumped.
@Mick Jordan:
If there’s CCTV at that location and it hasn’t been overwritten after a few months…
@Walt Jabsco: There would CCTV from a lot of the surrounding area. And it will all have been save around the Skripol poisoning. Where the container was found will narrow the search perimeter o the CCTV footage. The locals will be easily identified via facial recognition software. And that would leave strangers. If said arrived in the UK via Air or Sea port they would have had their passports scanned (most modern passports are biometric). So running the biometric details from immigration against facial recognition in the local CCTV may very well throw up a hit.
Me thinks it was probably Trump.
@Clever Jake: are you trying to tell me that Russian prostitutes urinated on Trumps orange head while he lay on Obama’s bed in Moscow.
Great work
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