POISON SPY DAUGHTER TALKS
Nerve agent victim recovers ‘rapidly’ Cops hope she can give vital clues
THE daughter of poisoned spy Sergei Skripal is said to be talking after making a dramatic recovery.
And police hope Yulia, 33, will have clues that could help catch the assassins.
Salisbury hospital said: “Her condition is now stable.”
POLICE will be hoping Yulia Skripal’s memory of events before she and dad Sergei were poisoned can help lead officers to the shady assassins who tried to kill them.
The 33-year-old has made a dramatic recovery and was said to be conscious and talking, just a day after Mr Skripal’s niece Viktoria said the pair have only a slim chance of survival.
Her father, 66, remains critical but stable at Salisbury District Hospital.
But medical director Dr Christine Blanchard said: “I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal.
“She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care. Her condition is now stable.”
There was still no indication as to what the long-term damage may be to former spy Mr Skripal and Yulia.
The development comes after a High Court judge last week said the pair’s “mental capacity might be compromised to an unknown degree”.
Mr Skripal’s Salisbury home was yesterday boarded up by forensic officers after police revealed the highest concentration of the Novichok used in their murder bid was found there.
Thin planks of wood were laid across the front garden and a children’s playground near the house was closed off. But police insisted there was no risk to the public.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon said: “I would like to reassure residents that we have placed the cordons around the park and officers will be searching it, as a precautionary measure. We believe the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent from their front door.
“We are therefore focusing much of our efforts in and around their address.
“Those in the Skripals’ neighbourhood can expect to see officers carrying out searches as part of this but I want to reassure them that the risk remains low.”
Alastair Hay, University of Leeds Professor Emeritus of Environmental Toxicology, said if the Skripals had got the Novichok on their hands it could have taken a while for it to work. They were found collapsed in Salisbury centre.
He added: “Uptake through some parts of the skin is much more efficient than others. The cheek and the back of the ear are 25 times more efficient than uptake through the palm of the hand.”
Prof Hay spoke as the row between Moscow and the West over the poisoning continued, with the Kremlin poised for tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats.
So far more than 130 Russian officials have been kicked out of more than a dozen countries around the world.