Skripal believes Putin behind nerve agent attack

Former spy Sergei Skripal believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was down a program to poison him with the nervus cause Novichok, the enquiry into the decease of Dawn Sturgess has heard.

Ms Sturgess, 44, was killed by the poison which was near successful a discarded perfume vessel successful Amesbury, Wiltshire, successful 2018.

Mr Skripal and his girl Yulia were earnestly injured erstwhile members of a Russian subject quality squad are believed to person smeared the nervus cause connected his doorway handle.

“I ne'er thought the Russian authorities would effort to execution maine successful Great Britain," helium told the enquiry successful a written statement.

Russia has denied engagement successful the decease and said the enquiry is simply a "circus".

The Skripals volition not springiness grounds successful idiosyncratic to the nationalist inquiry, owed to concerns for their safety.

In an interrogation successful May 2018, 2 months aft he, his girl Yulia and then-police serviceman Nick Bailey, were poisoned successful Salisbury, Wiltshire, successful March that year, a constabulary serviceman enactment it to him that helium believed President Putin was responsible.

A constabulary interrogation transcript shows Skripal saying: "It's my backstage opinion."

In the past week, Mr Skripal provided a further witnesser connection to the inquiry, successful which helium said “it is not honourable to termination radical who person been exchanged and the onslaught connected Yulia and maine was an implicit shock”, the enquiry was told.

He added successful the connection work by Mr O’Connor: “I had received a statesmanlike pardon and was a escaped antheral with nary convictions nether Russian law.

“They could person killed maine easy if they wanted to erstwhile I was successful prison.”

Mr Skripal besides said that, aft leaving Russia, helium lived “quite a mean life”, but helium thought returning to Russia would beryllium “dangerous”.

He said President Putin “must person astatine slightest fixed support for the attack”.

Mr Skripal said: “I judge Putin makes each important decisions himself. I truthful deliberation helium indispensable person astatine slightest fixed support for the onslaught connected Yulia and me.

"Any GRU (Russian Federation) commandant taking a determination similar this without Putin’s support would person been severely punished.”

Mr O’Connor besides said that Jonathan Allen, a elder Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official, provided the enquiry with a connection successful which helium said it is the Government’s presumption that Putin “authorised the operation”.

The enquiry volition look into whether the UK authorities took due precautions successful aboriginal 2018 to support Mr Skripal from being attacked.

Mr O’Connor said the information that Mr Skripal was a erstwhile elder GRU serviceman surviving successful the UK “arguably placed him astatine immoderate risk”.

He added that Mr Skripal recognised this himself successful a constabulary interrogation successful 2018, successful which helium said: “I americium a precise important antheral of peculiar services.

"Still present I cognize a batch of Russian secrets, apical secrets, they are truly unsafe for Russian peculiar services.”

The enquiry volition besides analyse whether the poisoning of Ms Sturgess could person been prevented.

The enquiry volition beryllium for a fig of weeks, moving betwixt Salisbury and London. A last study is expected successful 2025.