SPY POISON JAR’S FOUND
Novichok source in victim’s home
POLICE investigating a second outbreak of Novichok believe they have found the source of the substance.
Police have been scouring Amesbury, Wilts, since Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after coming into contact with the deadly poison.
Officers launched a murder probe when Dawn, 44, died on Sunday.
And they have now found a small bottle in Charlie’s Muggleton Road house, believed to be the source of their exposure.
Tests at the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, confirmed the bottle contained Novichok.
But assistant commissioner Neil Basu, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “We cannot guarantee there isn’t any more of the substance left and cordons will remain in place for some considerable time.
“This is to allow thorough searches to continue as a precautionary measure for public safety and to assist the investigation team.”
The next job is to discover if the poison is from the same batch which contaminated Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March.
Mr Rowley, 45, remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
The discovery comes as experts seized a police car from a car park in Chippenham as part of the investigation.
They previously removed paramedic Keith Mills’ personal Audi A3 from his home in Swindon, Wilts.