Novichok victim talks to police for the first time

A man believed to have picked up a container of deadly novichok nerve agent has spoken to police for the first time since regaining consciousness, counterterrorism officers have said. Charlie Rowley, 45, a heroin addict, came round yesterday at Salisbury district hospital in southwest England, two days after his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, succumbed to the Russian-made toxin, thought to be the remnants of the batch used in an attempt to assassinate Sergei Skripal, a former double agent, in March. Scotland Yard confirmed yesterday that detectives had had a short conversation with Rowley, from Amesbury in Wiltshire, meaning they are likely to have an idea of how the couple came in contact with the nerve agent and may now be in a position to track it down and make it safe.