Residents ‘frustrated’ by lack of justice over poisoning

SALISBURY is ready to move on from the Novichok poisoning but residents are frustrated the perpetrators have not yet been brought to justice, it is claimed.

Matthew Dean, the former leader of the city council who was in post at the time of the attack, said it was a “source of frustration” among members of the public that the suspects had not yet been caught.

Speaking one year on from the attack on March 4 2018, he said the city was eager and ready to “get back to normality”.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were targeted with the nerve agent and left seriously ill. Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was also treated after coming into contact with the substance when he tried to help the pair.

Charlie Rowley and his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill in nearby Amesbury months after the incident.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July after coming into contact with a perfume bottle believed to have been used in the attack on the Skripals and then discarded.

Mr Dean’s comments come after Mr Rowley demanded answers. Speaking to ITV News on Friday, Mr Rowley, 45, said he wanted “justice to be served and someone to pay for what they’ve done.”

He said the case was an “open book” and “nothing really had changed” in the year, adding: “I’d like there to be answers rather than questions all the time.”

The parents of Ms Sturgess previously called on the Government for answers and justice.

As the city was declared officially “safe” and fully decontaminated of Novichok after an extensive military clean-up, police re-issued an appeal for information as the investigation continues.

Counter-terrorism police said they still do not know what happened to the container which held the deadly nerve agent – a counterfeit bottle of Nina Ricci perfume – between March 4 and when Mr Rowley said he found it on June 27.