Boy fell ill after former spy helped him feed ducks

A lad fell sick aft coming into interaction with Sergei Skripal the time helium and his girl Yulia were poisoned with Novichock, it has been revealed.

The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry was shown CCTV footage connected Monday of Mr Skripal interacting with the child, handing him breadstuff to provender ducks successful Salisbury.

The boy, on with 2 others with him, were aboriginal traced arsenic portion of the investigation, and reported being sick for a time oregon 2 aft the encounter.

However, the enquiry heard nary traces of the chemic limb were recovered connected them erstwhile they were yet tested.

Commander Dominic Murphy, caput of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, helped the enquiry portion unneurotic the movements of Sergei and Yulia Skripal connected March 4 2018.

This included showing footage of them driving into Salisbury, handing a lad breadstuff to provender the ducks, having a portion successful The Mill pub and heading to Zizzi restaurant.

Mr Murphy told the enquiry that this accusation helped detectives acceptable the “time parameters of erstwhile the Novichok is apt to person been applied to that doorway arsenic 6pm connected the Saturday and 1.30pm connected the Sunday, erstwhile (the Skripals) past left.”

After opening successful Salisbury's Guildhall earlier this month, the enquiry into Ms Sturgess' death has resumed successful London.

Ms Sturgess, 44, died aft being exposed to Novichok successful Amesbury, Wiltshire, successful July 2018.

She sprayed herself with a "significant amount" of the nervus agent, which was hidden successful a perfume vessel that had been recovered successful a foundation postulation bin by her spouse Charlie Rowley.

The enquiry is successful the process of proceeding grounds astir links betwixt her decease and the attempted execution of erstwhile Russian treble cause Mr Skripal and his girl successful March 2018.

The UK information services blamed Russia for the attack.

The off-duty medics who helped springiness archetypal assistance to Mr Skripal and Yulia successful Salisbury municipality centre gave grounds to the nationalist enquiry connected Tuesday.

The enquiry heard a past main caregiver of the British Army, Alison McCourt, was 1 of the 2 to archetypal be the incidental connected 4 March, 2018.

At the enquiry Ms McCourt, who near the service successful 2022, responded to a papers published by the Russian Embassy which said determination had been “no effort to explain” the “extraordinary coincidence” that she had been successful the country astatine the time.

She said immoderate suggestions that her relation was connected to the incidental were "malicious", and that she was coincidentally successful Salisbury with her household due to the fact that her children wanted to spell to a Nando's restaurant.

Ms McCourt insisted her engagement was arsenic a “first responder subordinate of the public” successful her witnesser statement, which was work by counsel to the enquiry Francesca Whitelaw KC.

Ms McCourt said she would not person exposed herself oregon her girl to the hazard of coming into interaction with Novichok if she was alert the Skripals had been poisoned with the nervus agent.

The different off-duty medic was Dr Helen Orb, who is simply a paediatric intensive attraction doc astatine Birmingham Children's Hospital.

As she approached the Skripals aft seeing them connected the seat she said she "instantly thought they weren’t well".

Giving evidence, she told the enquiry her archetypal thought was nutrient poisoning.

What I recovered peculiarly odd, which is what made maine announcement them, was the presumption of the 2 of them.

"Sergei was sat bolt upright, appeared to beryllium staring into space. I could spot helium was moving his rima but helium wasn't talking to anybody... that struck maine arsenic odd.

"The woman adjacent to him was besides successful an unusual position.

"I said to my past spouse 'they don't look well'."