Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Novichok spy’s health ‘failing’
Skripal being treated at home after his condition gets worse
NOVICHOK victim Sergei Skripal is believed to be in poor health and having medical treatment at home.
The 67-year-old Russian spy and his daughter, Yulia, 33, were lucky to survive an attack with the nerve agent in March.
Sergei – who had worked for MI6 as a double agent – was discharged after two months in hospital. But an intelligence source said at tbe weekend: “His health has got worse and he’s been receiving medical care at home.”
Nobody can say what will happen to Skripal. Studies suggest exposure to other nerve agents can cause long-term memory and muscle issues.
Skripal, an ex-colonel in Russia’s GRU intelligence agency, has not been seen and is in a safe house somewhere in the UK. Yulia has been seen in a video, after she was discharged.
Police are quoted in a report as saying: “He [Skripal] is going to be receiving close medical care for some time.”
Suspects Colonel Alexander Mishkin and Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, both GRU officers, deny involvement.
A third suspect, Denis Sergeev, has been identified by website Bellingcat. The parents of Dawn Sturgess, the only person to die from the poison, have blamed the government for moving Skripal to Salisbury.
Salisbury Tory MP John Glen yesterday blasted pranksters for flying a huge Russian flag on the city’s cathedral, calling it a “stupid stunt”.