Key Takeaways:
- The family of Dawn Sturgess, who was killed in the Wiltshire nerve agent poisonings, can finally lay her to rest after an inquiry concluded she was an innocent victim of an attack by Vladimir Putin.
- The inquiry found that Putin was "morally responsible" for Sturgess’s death and that the attack was a "public demonstration of Russian state power".
- The family of Sturgess expressed concern that lessons may not have been learned to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
- The UK government has announced new sanctions against Russia and summoned the Russian ambassador to answer for the country’s "ongoing campaign of hostile activity against the UK".
- The inquiry found that the Russian agents who carried out the attack were reckless and had no regard for the hazard they created by discarding the novichok-filled perfume bottle in a public place.
Introduction to the Inquiry
The family of Dawn Sturgess, who was killed in the Wiltshire nerve agent poisonings, has finally found some closure after an inquiry concluded that she was an innocent victim of an attack by Vladimir Putin. The inquiry, led by Lord Hughes, found that Putin was "morally responsible" for Sturgess’s death and that the attack was a "public demonstration of Russian state power". The family of Sturgess has expressed relief that the inquiry has made it clear that she was blameless, but they are still concerned that lessons may not have been learned to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after spraying novichok, stored in a fake perfume bottle, over herself at the home of her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on 30 June 2018. The novichok was believed to have been discarded by Russian agents who had targeted the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal three months earlier. The inquiry found that the Russian agents, Alexander Petrov, Ruslan Boshirov, and Sergey Fedotov, were members of an operational team within the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency responsible for foreign intelligence gathering. They had recklessly discarded the novichok-filled perfume bottle in a public place, creating a hazard that could have killed or injured many innocent people.
The Family’s Reaction
Stan Sturgess, Dawn’s father, expressed his relief that the inquiry had made it clear that his daughter was blameless. He described his daughter as a "daddy’s girl" and said that she had been "public property" for the last seven years. He and his wife, Caroline, had kept her ashes at their home in a Wiltshire village, but they can now finally lay her to rest. However, Stan Sturgess is still angry that Wiltshire police initially falsely characterized his daughter as a drug user. He also feels that public health officials should have warned people not to pick up objects that did not belong to them after the attack on Skripal.
The Inquiry’s Findings
The inquiry found that the attack on Skripal was a "public demonstration of Russian state power" and that Putin must have authorized it. Lord Hughes criticized the way the security services protected Skripal, who was living openly under his own name in a suburban cul-de-sac. However, he did not consider that the attack on Skripal could have been averted by additional security measures. The inquiry also found that there were failings in Skripal’s management as an exchanged prisoner and that extra training for emergency services on recognizing symptoms from nerve agent exposure should have been more widely circulated after the Salisbury attack.
The Government’s Response
The UK government has announced new sanctions against Russia and summoned the Russian ambassador to answer for the country’s "ongoing campaign of hostile activity against the UK". Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, said that the Salisbury poisonings were a "grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives". The government’s response is a clear indication that the UK will not tolerate such attacks on its soil and will take action to protect its citizens.
The Victims’ Stories
Charlie Rowley, who found the novichok-filled perfume bottle, said that he was still struggling with his health after the poisoning. He has blurry and double vision, as well as memory issues, and believes that his health will never fully recover. He paid tribute to Dawn Sturgess, saying that she was a "lovely woman". The story of Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley is a tragic reminder of the devastating consequences of the attack and the need for the UK to take action to prevent such attacks from happening again.
Conclusion
The inquiry into the Wiltshire nerve agent poisonings has finally provided some closure for the family of Dawn Sturgess. However, it has also raised concerns that lessons may not have been learned to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. The UK government’s response is a clear indication that the country will not tolerate such attacks on its soil and will take action to protect its citizens. The story of Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley is a tragic reminder of the devastating consequences of the attack and the need for the UK to take action to prevent such attacks from happening again.