Boy fell ill after Salisbury poisoning victim Sergei Skripal gave him bread to feed ducks
A boy fell ill after Salisbury poisoning victim Sergei Skripal gave him bread to feed ducks, an inquiry has heard.
The young boy, who has not been named, and two others he was with, got sick after the former Russian spy handed him the bread in Salisbury city centre on 4 March 2018, the public inquiry was told.
After Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed on a bench nearby shortly afterwards and the incident unfolded, the boy and his friends were traced by public health authorities.
They said they were unwell for a day or two afterwards but no traces of novichok were found in their systems.
The new details came to light on Monday at the inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died after handling a perfume bottle containing the Russian nerve agent in nearby Amesbury in July 2018.
The Skripals and responding police officer Nick Bailey fell gravely ill after coming into contact with the novichok months earlier in March.
All three survived, along with Ms Sturgess’s boyfriend Charlie Rowley, who had unwittingly given her the perfume bottle.
British authorities blame the Russian state for the Salisbury poisonings.
Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Pic: Shutterstock
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The public inquiry, which is being chaired by former Supreme Court judge Lord Hughes of Ombersley, is now hearing evidence at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London – after opening at the Salisbury Guildhall earlier this month.
On Monday, the inquiry heard how a timeline of events given by Mr Skripal’s neighbours Ross and Maureen Cassidy helped police uncover when the Skripals’ home was likely contaminated with the deadly substance.
Dawn Sturgess. Pic: PA
Skripal said Putin would ‘get him’
Mr Cassidy quickly became friends with Mr Skripal after he moved to Salisbury in 2010, he said in evidence.
His revealed that, during their friendship, Mr Skripal had told him President Vladimir Putin would “get him” if he returned to his home country.
The Cassidys had driven Mr Skripal to Heathrow Airport on 3 March, the day before he was poisoned, to pick up his daughter.
During the trip, he believed he was followed.
On the return journey on the M3, he said he saw what he thought was a black BMW undercover police car apparently tailing him for about 10 minutes.
After passing what he believed was a white unmarked police car and slowing down, he then noticed the black BMW keeping pace, either in front or behind him, “for a really long distance”, he said.
He told the inquiry: “Because of what happened the following day, I put two and two together and came up with some conclusion that we were probably being followed.”
The inquiry heard, however, that police later identified the two vehicles and it was determined they were engaged in “entirely unconnected” police activities at the time.
When Mr and Mrs Cassidy dropped the Skripals at their home later, Mrs Cassidy went into the house. She said she couldn’t remember using the door handle but later tested negative for novichok.
Commander Dominic Murphy, of the Met Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said it meant that the novichok was “likely to have been applied to that door” between “6pm on the Saturday (3 March) and 1.30pm on the Sunday (4 March), when (the Skripals) then left”.
On 4 March, the Skripals were seen on CCTV driving into Salisbury city centre, handing the boy some bread to feed the ducks by a pond, then having a drink in The Mill pub, before going for a meal at Zizzi.
They left the restaurant after starting to feel unwell and were later discovered collapsed on a park bench.
Sergei and Yulia Skripal on CCTV from 4 March 2018. Pic: The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry/PA
On Tuesday, a former chief nurse for the British Army told the inquiry how she ended up rushing to the Skripals’ aid.
Alison McCourt described Russian claims she was partially responsible for the poisonings as “malicious”, adding she was only in Salisbury because her children had convinced her to stop at Nando’s.
“I had no prior knowledge of the individuals on the bench – I had never seen them before in my life, nor did I know who they were,” she said.
“In fact, having seen the couple on the bench, my initial instinct had in fact been not to get involved as it looked to me as if they were under the influence of drugs. It was only the chiding of my daughter that made me think I ought to go to their aid.
“It goes without saying that I had no idea a nerve agent, nor any other poison, had been the cause of the couple’s presentation.
“Given my training, had I known that a nerve agent had been used, I would not have exposed myself to any potential risk of personal harm. I had no equipment, medicine, nor PPE with me.”
The inquiry continues.
Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.
Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.
Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.
“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.
Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.
“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”
Lindsay months before her death
Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.
“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.
“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”
In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.
A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.
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Juliet, left, and Kate Rimer speak to Sky News this month
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Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.
“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.
“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.
“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”
New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.
Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”
Lucy Letby suggested she could give “tips” to a colleague on how to get away with murder, a public inquiry has heard.
The child serial killer exchanged WhatsApp messages in 2017 with union rep Hayley Griffiths about the US legal drama How To Get Away With Murder.
The discussion took place a year after the neonatal nurse was moved to clerical duties at the Countess of Chester Hospital following concerns she may have been deliberately harming babies.
In a message to Letby, Ms Griffiths wrote: “I’m currently watching a programme called how to get away with murder. I’m learning some good tips.”
Letby replied: “I could have given you some tips x”
Ms Griffiths said: “I need someone to practice on to see if I can get away with it.”
Letby wrote: “I can think of two people you could practice on and will help you cover it up x”
Ms Griffiths replied: “Deal. I will get thinking of a plan. Get the cruise booked as our getaway.”
The pair were working in the hospital’s risk and patient safety department a year before Letby was arrested on suspicion of multiple murders by Cheshire Police.
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How the police caught Lucy Letby
Ms Griffiths said she was aware of the concerns of foul play and the connection to Letby by September 2016.
Shahram Sharghy, representing some of the families of Letby’s victims, asked: “Given the severity of the allegations that were made, and would you agree they are possibly the most serious allegations that anybody could make against a healthcare professional, were you making light of those allegations when you were referring to potentially committing a crime?”
Ms Griffiths answered: “No.”
Mr Sharghy asked: “Can you even begin to imagine and put yourself in the position of the families of the babies who were harmed when they see those messages?”
Ms Griffiths said: “I know… I am so remorseful. As soon as I saw them myself I was upset and I can’t begin to imagine… I can only apologise and say I have learned. I can’t go back in time but I have reflected absolutely on it.”
Read more from the inquiry:
‘Cold’ Lucy Letby failed final year student nurse placement
‘Breathing tubes dislodged’ during Letby shifts
Nurses who worked with Letby ‘were thinking the unthinkable’
Earlier, Ms Griffiths told counsel to the inquiry Rachel Langdale KC: “It was nothing more than a conversation. However, I truly and deeply regret having started that conservation… this is completely unprofessional, poor judgement on my behalf and completely insensitive. And for that, I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart.”
Letby, 34, from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
She was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others between June 2015 and June 2016.
The Thirlwall Inquiry into the events surrounding her crimes is expected to sit until early 2015. The findings are expected by late autumn that year.
UK
Newcastle: Three men arrested in connection with deadly house explosion and on suspicion of cannabis production
Three men have been arrested in connection with a deadly house explosion in Newcastle.
Seven-year-old Archie York and Jason Laws, who was in his 30s, were killed following the blast in Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city in October.
Police said at the time that six others were taken to hospital “with varying injuries” after the blast and subsequent fire.
Three men – two in their 30s and one in his 50s – have been arrested on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter, and the production of a Class B drug, namely cannabis, Northumbria Police said.
They all remain in police custody.
Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith said: “This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives.
“As a result of our ongoing enquiries, three men have today been arrested in connection with the explosion.
“Our investigation will remain ongoing as we seek to provide answers to what has happened.
“We would continue to ask people to avoid speculation surrounding this incident both online and in the community.”
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From October: Deadly blast destroys Newcastle house
The blast tore through a row of six properties divided into two flats each.
Drone footage showed how six flats in the middle of the building appeared to have been completely destroyed by the explosion and fire, while piles of debris could be seen in the street outside.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Superintendent Darren Adams, from Northumbria Police, said on the day of the fire: “As a result of the incident in the early hours of this morning, a seven-year-old boy has sadly passed away.
“Despite the efforts of the emergency services, he tragically died at the scene.
“This is a truly devastating outcome.”
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