A British woman, Dawn Sturgess, who died after exposure to the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, was unknowingly caught in the middle of an “illegal and outrageous international assassination attempt,” a public inquiry has revealed.
Ms Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three, passed away in July 2018 after spraying herself with what she believed to be perfume from a discarded bottle containing the deadly nerve agent. Her death followed a failed poisoning attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, southwest England, according the CBS News. The U.K. government has stated it is “highly likely” that Russia orchestrated the plot.
In March 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury. Both survived after intensive medical care and now live under protection. Skripal, accused by Russia of spying for MI6, was jailed in 2006, later pardoned, and settled in the U.K. in 2010.
At the start of the public inquiry into Sturgess’ death, inquiry lawyer Andrew O’Connor explained that the discarded perfume bottle contained enough Novichok to poison thousands. He noted, “The circumstances of Dawn Sturgess’ death were extraordinary,” adding that her poisoning highlighted the “real possibility” that she was an innocent victim in an illegal assassination attempt.
The perfume bottle, believed to have been discarded by the agents targeting Skripal, linked Sturgess’ case to the Skripal incident. Britain attributes the attack to two Russian intelligence officers who allegedly entered the U.K. with fake passports. President Vladimir Putin denied involvement, and the two suspects claimed on Russian TV to have visited Salisbury as tourists. A third Russian was named the operation’s mastermind, with all three thought to belong to the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency. Russia, which refuses extradition, has dismissed the inquiry as a “circus.”
Six years later, relations between the U.K. and Russia remain strained, exacerbated by accusations that Russia was also behind the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. Closed sessions in the Sturgess inquiry will examine classified intelligence, though the Skripals will not provide live testimony due to safety concerns.
Sturgess’ family expressed concern over whether the U.K. government took adequate steps to protect the Skripals and the public from collateral harm. Former Prime Minister Theresa May recently expressed hope that the inquiry would uncover the truth for Sturgess’ loved ones, though she acknowledged that true closure would require justice, which is unlikely to occur.
The Salisbury attack prompted the largest-ever expulsion of diplomats between Western nations and Russia and led to limited sanctions. Since then, these sanctions have intensified following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Catherine Roper emphasized that the inquiry’s goal is to provide Sturgess’ family and the Wiltshire community with as much information as possible about her death, noting the profound impact on her family and loved ones.