LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – A British inquiry delivered its report into the death of a woman who died in 2018 after being poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok, months after a murder attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill from exposure to Novichok after the incident in Salisbury, southern England, but they recovered. Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with the nerve agent some months later.
Here are the main findings of the inquiry chair, former UK Supreme Court judge Anthony Hughes:
* Hughes said he was sure, beyond reasonable doubt, that the assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal in March 2018 was carried out by Russians Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who were members of a three-man GRU military intelligence team with Sergei Fedotov. Those names were all aliases.
* Hughes said he was sure that the team were acting under instructions and concluded that their operation would have been authorised by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The evidence that it was a Russian state attack was overwhelming. There was no evidence anyone else had a motive to kill him.
* The GRU team and all those who sent them or authorised their mission including Putin were morally responsible for the death of Sturgess.
* The attack on Skripal could not have been avoided had there been additional security measures put in place around the former Russian spy, such as cameras at his house.
* The Novichok was brought to Salisbury in a ‘Nina Ricci’ perfume bottle. Having unwittingly applied the nerve agent, Sturgess’ condition was unsurvivable.
(Reporting by Michael HoldenEditing by Gareth Jones)
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