Novichok investigators recover more than 400 items
Teams investigating the Novichok poisoning of a couple in Wiltshire have recovered more than 400 exhibits, samples and items – with police warning that searches could last months.
The nerve agent was found in a small bottle in the Amesbury home of Charlie Rowley, 45, who along with partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, was exposed to the deadly substance last month. Ms Sturgess died while Mr Rowley is seriously ill in hospital. Experts are trying to determine whether the Novichok that poisoned them was from the same batch used in the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, national lead for Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, described the process as “painstaking and vital work”.
Scientists at the nearby Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down confirmed the substance in the bottle is Novichok.
But further tests will be carried out to try to establish whether it is from the same batch that poisoned the Skripals in March. Scotland Yard said this “remains a main line of inquiry for the investigation”.
Counter-terror detectives are trying to establish where the bottle came from and how it came to be in Mr Rowley’s home.
The UK has also invited independent experts to confirm the identity of the nerve agent.