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| Wiltshire pair poisoned by nerve agent novichok, say police | Wiltshire pair poisoned by nerve agent novichok, say police |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The poisoning of a couple in Wiltshire was caused by the nerve agent novichok, the same substance used against a former Russian spy and his daughter four months ago, Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer has announced. | |
| The statement on Wednesday night by Scotland Yard assistant commissioner Neil Basu followed a day of mystery about what caused the collapse of the couple on Saturday, which was first thought to be drug-related. | |
| Paramedics were called to their home which is barely eight miles from where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with a nerve agent in March, which Britain holds Russia responsible for. | Paramedics were called to their home which is barely eight miles from where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with a nerve agent in March, which Britain holds Russia responsible for. |
| The couple are British nationals Dawn Sturgess, 44, from Salisbury, and Charlie Rowley, 45, of Amesbury, who are in critical condition in Salisbury district hospital, where the Skripals were treated four months earlier after being exposed to the nerve agent novichok.. | The couple are British nationals Dawn Sturgess, 44, from Salisbury, and Charlie Rowley, 45, of Amesbury, who are in critical condition in Salisbury district hospital, where the Skripals were treated four months earlier after being exposed to the nerve agent novichok.. |
| The initial police view was that drugs caused Sturgess and Rowley’s severe illness. But that view started to change and in the early hours of Wednesday and a major incident was declared when health officials and police became alarmed at the couple’s symptoms and were unable to pinpoint the cause. | |
| Tests were carried out by scientists at Porton Down, which is expert in spotting nerve agents. Scientists there concluded a nerve agent was responsible, the same type used to attack the Skripals. | |
| Basu said: “I can confirm tonight that there has been a significant development and that the Counter Terrorism Policing Network is now leading the investigation into this incident. | |
| “This evening we have received test results from Porton Down that show the two people have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok.” | |
| Basu, who leads the police counter terrorism network, tried to allay public concerns about the risk of further contamination: “At this stage, no-one else has presented with the same symptoms linked to this incident. | |
| “The priority for the investigation team now is to establish how these two people have come into contact with this nerve agent.” | |
| Basu added: “I would add that the complex investigation into the attempted murders of Yulia and Sergei remains ongoing and detectives continue to sift through and assess all the available evidence and are following every possible lead to identify those responsible, for what remains a reckless and barbaric criminal act. | |
| “However, I must say that we are not in a position to say whether the nerve agent was from the same batch that the Skripals were exposed to. The possibility that these two investigations might be linked is clearly a line of inquiry for us.” | |
| He said 100 counter terrorism detectives were involved, as well as officers from the Wiltshire police force. | |
| Throughout Wednesday, as concern mounted, sites where the British couple had visited in Wiltshire were sealed off by police. | |
| Basu said: “We have cordoned off a number of sites in the Amesbury and Salisbury areas that we believe the two individuals visited in the period before they fell ill. | |
| “This is a precautionary measure while we continue to investigate how they came into contact with the substance. | |
| “I do want to reassure the public, however, that there is no evidence that either the man or woman recently visited any of the sites that were decontaminated following the attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.” | |
| The results of the Porton Down tests were eagerly awaited from the prime minister downwards, intelligence agencies and police. | |
| UK security and counter-terrorism | UK security and counter-terrorism |
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| Sergei Skripal | Sergei Skripal |
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