WAS HE SPRAYED IN STREET?
Detectives fear spy was targeted with poison liquid which also left 999 staff in hospital
EX-SPY Sergei Skripal may have been ambushed by attackers who sprayed him with poison in the street.
Investigators suspect the Russian army colonel collapsed so quickly because he inhaled the deadly chemical.
One line of inquiry is that his daughter Yulia is ‘collateral damage’, coming into contact with the substance as she attempted to help him. Last night both were fighting for their lives in hospital.
Government ministers are understood to be furious at the reckless nature of the suspected assassination bid in the centre of Salisbury.
Scores of people were milling around the Wiltshire city as milder weather returned after last week’s cold snap.
It is not clear when the couple were confronted, having left a branch of Italian restaurant chain Zizzi between 2pm and 3pm.
At some point they had visited the Bishop’s Mill Pub before they were found on a bench overlooking the Avon shortly after 4pm.
Several bystanders went to their aid as Mr Skripal fell into a catatonic state and Yulia appeared to suffer a fit on the ground. Up to ten emergency service workers were also assessed by medical staff after treating the Skripals. One remained in hospital last night.
Some had complained of suffering itchy eyes and difficulty breathing, suggesting some of the mystery poison may have remained in the air. Their colleagues put on full biohazard suits and respirators amid fears they, too, could be struck down by any lingering remains of the chemical.
Police teams removed furniture, including the table and chairs the couple sat at for lunch, for further forensic tests. Scientists at the secret Porton Down weapons laboratory near Salisbury are working around the clock to identify the fast-acting poison used in the attack.
They have vast experience of handling some of the world’s most deadly biological, chemical and radiological materials. Toxicologists will examine samples of blood, urine and tissue taken from the victims at Salisbury hospital.
A spray-style attack would have disturbing echoes of the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother at Kuala Lumpur airport last year. Kim Jong-nam was poisoned by VX nerve agent, which was sprayed in his face by two young women who claimed afterwards that they thought it was a prank.
Experts have already said it is
‘Who else is potentially at risk?’
highly unlikely that a radioactive poison was involved in the attack on the Skripals because of the speed with which they were struck down.
One former radiation biologist said the ‘considerable rapidity’ of their decline suggested a chemical source. ‘Decontamination at the scene would also suggest that possibility,’ he added. ‘However, we shouldn’t totally ignore biological contamination of food or the environment. However, the latter would have caused a wider response from Public Health England and the authorities.’
Former Metropolitan Police commander Bob Broadhurst said police and health staff will be working in tandem to identify the poison. ‘It overlaps in terms of public safety between the investigative police world and the forensic medical world,’ he said.
‘What was the cause of this illness? Was it a poison, and if so how did he ingest it? Who else is potentially at risk? You will have almost a parallel investigation – detectives and doctors trying to find cause and effect.’
Professor Alastair Hay of Leeds University said it could take some time before the test results are known. ‘Individuals cannot provide unlimited amounts of blood for testing so investigations will be guided by the clinical team,’ Professor Hay said.
‘Some tests are rapid and some [poison] candidates will be looked at quickly. But if the cause is more unusual, body fluids will require significant clean-up preparation before they can be put in an instrument. So this could take a day or several days.’
Experts are also trawling through hundreds of hours of CCTV to identify what happened, and when.