Unlikely Justice for Victims of Novichok Poisoning, Says Former PM Theresa May

[Social Media]

 

Former Prime Minister Theresa May expressed doubts that justice will ever be achieved for those affected by the Salisbury Novichok attack. Speaking about the 2018 poisoning that claimed the life of Wiltshire resident Dawn Sturgess, she admitted that it is “highly unlikely” that those responsible will face trial. Instead, May hopes that Sturgess’ family will find solace in the forthcoming independent inquiry into her death. “I would hope by the end of it the family and friends of Dawn Sturgess feel it has got to the truth,” she stated during an interview for a new BBC podcast on the Salisbury Poisonings, which covers the inquiry.

 

 

Ms. Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three, tragically died in July 2018 after coming into contact with Novichok, a deadly Russian nerve agent. It is believed that the chemical weapon had been carelessly discarded by Russian agents who were targeting former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in March 2018. In addition to Skripal, his daughter Yulia Skripal and Wiltshire Police officer Det Sgt Nick Bailey were also exposed to the toxin, though they later recovered.

 

 

Charlie Rowley, Sturgess’s partner, unwittingly gave her the poison after finding the perfume bottle containing the Novichok, unaware of its deadly contents. May, who was the prime minister at the time, expressed deep sadness over the incident. "I felt huge sadness about Ms. Sturgess' death," she said, while also pointing out that the number of potential victims could have been much higher, given the quantity of the nerve agent discovered. She described the Russian agents’ actions as "utter recklessness."

 

Within a week of the Skripal attack, the UK government, led by May, publicly accused the Russian government of involvement. This swift response led to the expulsion of Russian intelligence officers by the UK and numerous other countries. “We had to be certain of our ground,” May explained, recalling the tense moment she stood in the House of Commons to formally accuse Russia. "It's why we took our time" to gather the facts and avoid “rash declarations.” She acknowledged the challenge of balancing the public’s desire for immediate information with the need for caution.

 

Reflecting on the broader context of Russian-linked poisonings, May also expressed regret that the UK had not responded more forcefully to the 2006 murder of Alexander Litvinenko, another former Russian spy, who was killed in London using radioactive polonium-210. A public inquiry concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had likely approved Litvinenko's assassination. “I think we probably should have taken a stronger response to that at the time and given a clearer message to Russia," she admitted.

 

The public inquiry into Dawn Sturgess’s death, which was converted from an inquest in 2021 to allow for classified evidence, is set to begin on October 14, more than six years after the incident. The inquiry aims to uncover the circumstances surrounding her death but cannot assign guilt or lead to a trial. While UK counter-terrorism police identified two Russian nationals, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, as suspects in September 2018, and later named a third suspect, Sergey Fedotov, all three remain in Russia. Despite the international arrest warrants issued against them, they are unlikely to face justice, as Russia’s constitution prevents the extradition of its citizens. Russia has continuously denied involvement, with its foreign ministry dismissing the inquiry as a “circus.” 

 

As the inquiry proceeds, May’s hope is that while justice may remain out of reach, the truth surrounding Ms. Sturgess’s tragic death will provide some measure of closure to her loved ones.

 

Based on a report from BBC 2024-10-12

 

 

 

[jippytum]

 Russia carries covert assassinations in other countries. 

The UK should allow  Ukraine to attack Russia with western supplied weapons. 

 

[Homburg]

Nothing to see here.  Move along.  No victim gets justice in the UK anyway.  The UK criminal justice system is just that - criminal - where murderers are sent to prison for as little as 8½ years.

[soalbundy]

3 hours ago, jippytum said:

 Russia carries covert assassinations in other countries. 

The UK should allow  Ukraine to attack Russia with western supplied weapons. 

 

Political assassinations aren't new nor are they the sole reserve of Russia alone, America, China, Israel, Turkey, and even the UK, in their fight against the IRA ,have all been implicated, as has France in its Algerian conflict so we shouldn't get too precious about Russia, politics is a dirty business and murder by proxy isn't unusual.

[Bkk Brian]

4 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Political assassinations aren't new nor are they the sole reserve of Russia alone, America, China, Israel, Turkey, and even the UK, in their fight against the IRA ,have all been implicated, as has France in its Algerian conflict so we shouldn't get too precious about Russia, politics is a dirty business and murder by proxy isn't unusual.

I've yet to hear about those other countries using WMD's Plutonium or Novichok

[soalbundy]

Just now, Bkk Brian said:

I've yet to hear about those other countries using WMD's Plutonium or Novichok

They killed the target as efficiently as a bullet, indeed there was a certain elegance in the delivery of the polonium into Litvinenko's body. Certainly the Novichok operation was botched, it didn't kill the targets but killed an innocent person when the agents carelessly discarded the left over Novichok. The CIA's many attempts at killing Castro were so botched as to be comical.

[Bkk Brian]

23 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

They killed the target as efficiently as a bullet, indeed there was a certain elegance in the delivery of the polonium into Litvinenko's body. Certainly the Novichok operation was botched, it didn't kill the targets but killed an innocent person when the agents carelessly discarded the left over Novichok. The CIA's many attempts at killing Castro were so botched as to be comical.

Whataboutism

[soalbundy]

3 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Whataboutism

No, it's more, let's stop pointing fingers in outrageous indignation, these things happen and no state can raise its hand and say I'm innocent.

[jippytum]

55 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Political assassinations aren't new nor are they the sole reserve of Russia alone, America, China, Israel, Turkey, and even the UK, in their fight against the IRA ,have all been implicated, as has France in its Algerian conflict so we shouldn't get too precious about Russia, politics is a dirty business and murder by proxy isn't unusual.

Russian assassins have proven to have a direct link to Putin.To seek the elimination of his personal critics

 

Most other assasinations are carried out by deranged individuals. 

[Bkk Brian]

16 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

No, it's more, let's stop pointing fingers in outrageous indignation, these things happen and no state can raise its hand and say I'm innocent.

Rubbish, read the topic, the method used by Russia is reckless in the extreme

[soalbundy]

4 minutes ago, jippytum said:

Russian assassins have proven to have a direct link to Putin.To seek the elimination of his personal critics

 

Most other assasinations are carried out by deranged individuals. 

Like the CIA, or MI6 via the SAS, or government agents in a Turkish embassy or the French DGSE in Algeria, you mean?

[soalbundy]

Just now, Bkk Brian said:

Rubbish, read the topic, the method used by Russia is reckless in the extreme

Yes, Novichok was reckless but it didn't cause mass deaths, botched as it was. Israel would bomb a whole restaurant to get one person of interest while some Arab states would blow up a full aircraft to make a point. The Americans didn't care about collateral damage during the Iraqi freedom operation, all states are ruthless when their interests are at stake, be it ideological or oil or counter terrorism, the end will justify the means.

[Bkk Brian]

18 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Yes, Novichok was reckless but it didn't cause mass deaths, botched as it was. Israel would bomb a whole restaurant to get one person of interest while some Arab states would blow up a full aircraft to make a point. The Americans didn't care about collateral damage during the Iraqi freedom operation, all states are ruthless when their interests are at stake, be it ideological or oil or counter terrorism, the end will justify the means.

Yes, Novichok was reckless but it didn't cause mass deaths, botched as it was.

 

Yes it was but so was using plutonium and the rest of your post is pure off topic deflection and speculation