The UK government believes Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the Salisbury Novichok poisoning, which may have killed thousands of people, an inquest has been told.
A senior Foreign Office (FCDO) official gave a statement to the inquiry in which he said the British government had concluded the nerve agent attack was too sensitive for Putin to go ahead with it.
The trial also heard former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was the target of the attack, blaming Putin. In a new statement given to the inquiry, he said: “I believe that Putin will make all the important decisions himself. So I think he should have at least given permission for the attack.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok on 4 March 2018 in Salisbury, where he had settled after a spy exchange.
On 30 June 2018, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, fell ill at their home in Amesbury. Rowley, 11 miles north of Salisbury, was found to have been poisoned with Novichok in a perfume bottle. The Skripals and Rowley survived, but Sturgess died on July 8.
The inquest, which opened on Monday at the Guildhall in Salisbury, is set to examine Sturgess' death but will also look more closely at the attack on the Skripals.
Counsel for the inquest, Andrew O'Connor KC, described the circumstances of Sturgess' death as “unusual, unique”.
He lived a life “completely removed from politics and international relations” but died “an unnatural and completely unexpected death, poisoned by a military-grade chemical weapon”.
The barrister said: “When Don Sturgess was poisoned with Novichok four months after the Skripal poisoning, he found himself at the crosshairs of an illegal and outrageous international assassination attempt – an innocent victim – a real opportunity emerged.”
O'Connor continued: “The evidence suggests that this bottle, containing enough poison to kill thousands of people, must have already been left somewhere in public, creating an obvious danger that someone would find it and take it. home.”
He told Lord Hughes of Ombersley, chairman of the inquest: “You may conclude that those who disposed of the bottle acted with a grotesque disregard for human life.”
Jonathan Allen, a senior officer at the FCDO, told the court that he had provided a report summarizing the UK government's “current assessments of responsibility for toxicity”.
His statement read: “In light of the seniority required under Russian law to authorize the killing of suspected terrorists outside Russia and the fact that this incident concerned a politically sensitive target (Mr Skripal was a UK citizen, and was targeted on UK soil), it is HMG's opinion that President Putin authorized this action.
O'Connor said Skripal expressed his own opinion on the matter. When interviewed by police in May 2018, he said it was his “personal opinion” that Putin was responsible, and that Russia believed he was still working for the West as the “number one reason” for the assassination attempt.
In a further statement given to the trial last week, Skripal said: “I don't know how Putin personally saw me. As far as I know, I have never spoken to him, although I was in the same room as him a couple of years ago.
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“Killing transferees is not honorable, and the attack on Yulia and me was a complete shock. I had received a presidential pardon and was a free man with no punishment under Russian law. I never thought that the Russian regime in Great Britain would try to assassinate me … I knew of no specific threat.
“I believe that Putin will take all the important decisions himself. So I think he should have at least given permission for the attack on Yulia and me.
“When I worked in the GRU special services in Russia, I received secret information. I am aware of allegations that Putin was involved in illegal activity in the removal of rare metals. He added: “I read that Putin is personally very interested in poison and likes to read books about it.”
Skripal said he felt safe in the UK and did not want special security measures. He said: “I don't have a security alarm or sensor activated security lights in the house, neither of which I remember being raised with me. CCTV was recommended but I turned it down as I didn't want to expose my home or live under surveillance.
The investigation was told that Skripal was poisoned after Novichok was applied to the doorknob of the former spy's home. But O'Connor clarified that how Rowley got onto the bottle remains a mystery. He said: “We are not confident that we will come to a definitive explanation.”
CCTV footage of the suspected killers' journey to Salisbury was played at the inquest, and O'Connor highlighted the 31 minutes they were “missing”.
Before the inquests, which are due to run until December, Sturgess' parents, Stan and Caroline, told the Guardian they hoped the inquest would answer far-reaching questions about how the tragedy unfolded and allow the family, finally, to fully grieve for her.
The investigation continues.
