Boyfriend of Novichok victim improves

The family of a woman killed by a nerve agent have paid tribute to a ‘‘gentle soul who was generous to a fault’’ as her boyfriend’s condition improved slightly. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died on Monday after more than a week on life support. The couple had come across what police believe was a container likely to have been discarded when Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, was targeted with Novichok in Salisbury, southwest England. Charlie Rowley, 45, a heroin addict, regained consciousness yesterday at Salisbury district hospital, where doctors had seen a ‘‘small but significant improvement’’. It is not known if he has been told that his girlfriend has died. Sturgess had struggled with alcoholism. She fell ill with Rowley at his home in Amesbury on June 30. Britain has blamed the Russian state for the attack on the Skripals and the subsequent poisoning of Sturgess and Rowley.