Was spy poisoned by flowers?
The bouquet left by double agent at wife’s grave is ‘focus’ of probe Witness reported a ‘man in a mask’ near where he collapsed
A BOUQUET of fresh flowers laid by former Russian spy Sergei Skripal at his wife’s grave has become a primary focus of the forensic inquiry into his poisoning, according to a source close to the inquiry.
Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, visited the cemetery where his wife Liudmila is buried just hours before they collapsed in Salisbury city centre in the south of England last Sunday.
It is believed the flowers may have been contaminated with the ‘rare’ nerve agent – yet to be publicly identified – that has left the pair fighting for life.
The highly placed source, who was briefed yesterday about the inquiry’s latest developments, told the Mail on Sunday one extraordinary new line of inquiry is that the bouquet may have been laced with poison. ‘It can’t be ruled out,’ he said. This possibility centres on the idea that the flowers, now being examined by chemical experts, were sent to Mr Skripal’s home by whoever targeted him. It is thought they may have been accompanied by something – a card perhaps – to suggest they came from a friend of his wife and a request to take them to the cemetery.
The source said: ‘It’s all about the flowers at the moment… the fresh flowers along the grave, and it appears Skripal went there just before he went to the car park in Salisbury centre.’
Contact between the flowers and furnishings at the house would explain how traces of the agent were absorbed through the skin of anyone who touched surfaces there – including Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who became ill following a visit to the Skripals’ home. He may also have become contaminated after rushing to the scene of where they collapsed to treat them.
DS Bailey remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital. The belief that Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned at home with a slower-acting toxin than previously thought has gained credence in the past few days. Toxicology experts say it is possible for the effects of nerve agents to take several hours.
It was unusual for Mr Skripal to lay fresh blooms at the grave. Normally he bought artificial ones every few weeks from the same market stall. Professor Monique Simmonds, botanist and an expert consultant during an investigation into the death of a Russian corruption whistleblower five years ago, said plant toxins can be regarded as a type of nerve agent.
Alexander Perepilichnyy collapsed during a jog near London in November 2012. Reports have suggested the Kremlin wanted him dead because he was a witness in a £145m corporate fraud case involving Russian officials, police officers and the mafia.
Prof. Simmonds established that traces of the flower Gelsemium elegans was present in Mr Perepilichnyy’s body. The plant can cause a rapid shutdown of nerve and respiratory systems but British detectives concluded at the time that the death was not suspicious. Yesterday Prof. Simmonds said she could not speculate on whether a plant toxin was used in the Salisbury attack. ‘There are certainly plants that can change compounds in the body and have an effect on nervous systems,’ she said.
Asked about the flowers being a key focus of the investigation, a police spokesman said: ‘We’re not confirming individual sources or site locations.’
In other developments yesterday:
Activity around Mrs Skripal’s grave intensified, with officers in decontamination suits working close to an orange gurney, normally used for moving hospital patients;
A witness told police that an hour before the couple collapsed he saw a ‘man in a mask’ acting suspiciously nearby;
British home secretary Amber Rudd said more than 250 counterterrorism police are involved in the investigation;
Details emerged about the life of ‘deeply religious’ Yulia who grew up not knowing her father was a spy;
Anna Chapman, the Russian agent exchanged for Mr Skripal, has branded him a ‘traitor’;
Police issued a statement on behalf of DS Bailey saying he does not want to be considered a hero.
More than 180 troops flooded into Salisbury on Friday to help at the numerous crime scenes. Police have identified more than 200 witnesses and 240 pieces of evidence.
Forensic inquiries yesterday continued at Mr Skripal’s fourbedroom semi. At the city’s hospital, military transporters removed ambulances that might have been contaminated. But it was Mrs Skripal’s graveside that saw the most intensive activity.
Her death certificate says the 60-year-old died of cancer in 2012. Her body was not exhumed but detectives have not ruled out removing it for forensic tests at a later date. The couple’s son, Alexander, died of liver failure aged just 43 while on holiday in Russia last year.
Investigators also removed flowers and trinkets from his grave in the same cemetery in Salisbury. A source said that investigators are looking at surface material that Mr Skripal might have handled before the nerve agent got to him.
‘To them it’s something he touched on that day. They don’t know what it is – they are being super, super cautious about everywhere he’s been. They don’t know how it was administered, so they are not closing down any line of inquiry on this.’
Market trader John Bourne, 58, said Mr Skripal bought plastic flowers from his stall every ‘four to six weeks’.
‘Anything he touched could be contaminated’