Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the plan to poison him with the nerve agent Novichok, a public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess has heard. Sturgess died in 2018 after coming into contact with the poison, which had been left in a discarded perfume bottle.
Former spy Sergei Skripal believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind a plan to poison him with the nerve agent Novichok, the inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess has heard.
“I never thought the Russian regime would try to murder me in Great Britain," he told the inquiry in a written statement.The Skripals will not give evidence in person to the public inquiry, due to concerns for their safety. He added in the statement read by Mr O’Connor: “I had received a presidential pardon and was a free man with no convictions under Russian law.Mr Skripal also said that, after leaving Russia, he lived “quite a normal life”, but he thought returning to Russia would be “dangerous”.Mr Skripal said: “I believe Putin makes all important decisions himself. I therefore think he must have at least given permission for the attack on Yulia and me.
The inquiry will look into whether the UK authorities took appropriate precautions in early 2018 to protect Mr Skripal from being attacked.
Novichok Poisoning Sergei Skripal Vladimir Putin Dawn Sturgess Russian Intelligence
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Novichok inquiry: Who was Dawn Sturgess and how was she poisoned?An independent inquiry will explore links between Dawn Sturgess' death and the Salisbury poisonings.
Read more »
Inquiry into Novichok poisoning of Dawn Sturgess to startThe inquiry will examine the circumstances leading to Ms Sturgess' death from a nerve agent.
Read more »
Dawn Sturgess Novichok poisoning inquiry to startThe inquiry into her death from exposure to a nerve agent starts in Salisbury later.
Read more »
Perfume bottle found by Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess could have killed 'thousands', inquiry hearsThousands of people could have been killed by the Salisbury poisonings, an inquiry heard.
Read more »
Novichok in perfume bottle that killed Dawn Sturgess was 'enough to kill thousands', inquiry hearsThe 44-year-old died in July 2018 after being caught in the 'crossfire of an illegal and outrageous international assassination attempt', the inquiry into her poisoning heard.
Read more »
New NATO chief Mark Rutte tells allies to ignore Russian leader Putin's sabre rattlingAgainst the backdrop of increased Russian nuclear weapons threats over Ukraine, NATO is due to begin its yearly Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise next week.
Read more »