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.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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