Daughter of poisoned Russian spy ‘talking’

Doctors bring round nerve agent victim, who may be able to help police find her and father’s attackers

Yulia Skripal, the 33-year-old Russian who was struck down with her former spy father Sergei Skripal in the Salisbury nerve agent attack, was “conscious and talking”, according to reports last night, raising hopes that she might recover enough to help police identify their attackers. Doctors at Salisbury District Hospital, who are believed to have used an antidote to pesticides to treat her, said her condition was “improving rapidly”.

THE daughter of Sergei Skripal may lead police to their would-be assassins after it was reported she had regained consciousness for the first time since being struck down in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

Yulia Skripal was “conscious and talking”, according to reports last night, raising hopes that she may recover enough to be able to give the police information about the attack. Such information could prove invaluable in the hunt for the suspected Russian hitsquad which targeted Col Skripal, who was convicted by the Russians for selling information to MI6 and came to Britain in 2010 following a spy swap.

Her father, who collapsed with her on a bench close to the River Avon in the city after leaving a restaurant, remains in a critical but stable condition.

It is understood doctors may have used a drug called pralidoxime, an antidote to organophosphate pesticides and chemicals, to treat her and her father. Salisbury District Hospital said her condition was “improving rapidly” and she was no longer in a critical condition.

Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at the hospital, 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 24 hours a day.

“I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the staff of Salisbury District Hospital for delivering such high quality care to these patients over the last few weeks. I am very proud both of our front-line staff and all those who support them.”

The Skripals’ relatives in Russia had expressed fears that she was close to death and may even have already died.

Her improvement will be welcomed both by her family and detectives, who will hope that she recovers to the extent that she can respond in some way to questions about the hours leading up to the attack.

Ms Skripal, 33, who lives in Moscow, was in Britain visiting her father and it may be that she can at some stage give an indication of whether they were followed or if she noticed any suspicious activity around her father’s house in Christie Miller Road, where police say the largest concentration of traces of nerve agent was discovered.

David Videcette, a former counterterrorism officer, said: “Officers will be hoping Yulia might be able to say something that indicates they were followed or that there was activity at the front of the house.”

Detectives earlier said the pair were probably poisoned by a nerve agent having been applied to Mr Skripal’s front door at his Salisbury home.

Last night, it was claimed Yulia had nerve agent on her left hand, and her father had it on his right hand.

It also emerged this week that Elena Yakovlevna, Col Skripal’s mother, has not been told of the attack.

The 90-year-old’s family have managed to keep her away from one of the most widely reported stories in the world, fearful that news of her son’s fate would prove fatal to her health. Victoria Skripal, a niece of Col Skripal, said at the time: “Our priority is to protect our grandmother so that she does not hear anything. She will not know until the very last moment. She will know when this situation is somehow resolved... if the story ends badly, we will tell her that they fell ill.”

Britain has accused Russia of being behind the poisoning, something fiercely denied by the Kremlin. In turn, Russia has suggested that UK intelligence officers may have been involved in the poisoning. Moscow is facing increasing global isolation, with at least 26 countries expelling a total of more than 150 of its suspected spies.