Key Takeaways:
- Vladimir Putin is morally responsible for the death of Dawn Sturgess, who was killed by a nerve agent smuggled into the UK by Russian agents.
- The assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018 was authorized by Putin and carried out by Russian military intelligence agents.
- The use of a highly toxic nerve agent in a busy city was an "astonishingly reckless act" that put many innocent lives at risk.
- The inquiry found that there were failings in Skripal’s management as an exchanged prisoner, but that the attack could not have been avoided by additional security measures.
- The inquiry criticized Wiltshire police for wrongly characterizing Sturgess as a drugs user after she was poisoned.
Introduction to the Inquiry
The inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, a British woman who was killed by a nerve agent smuggled into the UK by Russian agents, has concluded that Vladimir Putin is morally responsible for her death. The inquiry, led by Lord Hughes of Ombersley, found that the assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in March 2018 was authorized by Putin and carried out by Russian military intelligence agents. The inquiry also found that the use of a highly toxic nerve agent in a busy city was an "astonishingly reckless act" that put many innocent lives at risk.
The Assassination Attempt on Sergei Skripal
The inquiry found that the three Russian operatives, Alexander Petrov, Ruslan Boshirov, and Sergey Fedotov, arrived in London from Moscow on Friday, March 2, 2018, with the intention of killing Skripal. On Sunday, March 4, 2018, Petrov and Boshirov placed novichok on the handle of Skripal’s front door. The Skripals fell seriously ill but survived. The inquiry found that the Russian operatives had brought the novichok to Salisbury in a fake perfume bottle, which they used to apply the poison to the door handle. They then recklessly discarded the bottle, which was later found by Charlie Rowley, Sturgess’s boyfriend, in a bin.
The Death of Dawn Sturgess
Sturgess, 44, died after spraying novichok over herself from the fake perfume bottle at Rowley’s home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on June 30, 2018. The inquiry found that there was a clear causative link between the use and discarding of the novichok by Petrov and Boshirov and the death of Sturgess. The inquiry also found that Rowley had likely come upon the bottle within a few days of it being abandoned on March 4, 2018. The chair of the inquiry, Lord Hughes, said that the risk of others being killed or injured by the novichok was entirely foreseeable and that the Russian operatives had shown a complete disregard for the hazard they had created.
Failings in Skripal’s Management
The inquiry found that there had been failings in Skripal’s management as an exchanged prisoner. In particular, sufficient, regular written assessments were not conducted, and the assessment that Skripal was not at significant risk of assassination could not be judged to have been unreasonable. However, the inquiry found that the attack on Skripal could not have been avoided by additional security measures being put in place. The only such measures that could have avoided the attack would have been to hide him completely with a new identity.
Criticism of Wiltshire Police
The inquiry criticized Wiltshire police for wrongly characterizing Sturgess as a drugs user after she was poisoned. The chair of the inquiry, Lord Hughes, said that this characterization was not supported by the evidence and that Sturgess had received entirely appropriate medical care from the ambulance staff who attended to her and from hospital doctors. The inquiry also found that public health officials had not given the public advice not to pick anything up because at that stage it was not known where the Russian agents had been.
Conclusion
The inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess has concluded that Vladimir Putin is morally responsible for her death. The inquiry found that the assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal was authorized by Putin and carried out by Russian military intelligence agents. The use of a highly toxic nerve agent in a busy city was an "astonishingly reckless act" that put many innocent lives at risk. The inquiry has cost £8.3m and has taken several years to complete. The findings of the inquiry are a stark reminder of the dangers posed by Russian aggression and the need for vigilance and cooperation to prevent such attacks in the future.