Novichok victim’s mother ‘comforted’ that no-one else died

The mother of poisoning victim Dawn Sturgess says her family found comfort that she was the only person to be killed by the Russian nerve agent Novichok.

Dawn, 44, and a mother of three, died after being exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok which was left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in 2018.

The inquiry has heard already that the vial of Novichok opened by Dawn Sturgess contained enough nerve agent to kill thousands.

Caroline Sturgess paid tribute to her daughter at the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry earlier, describing her as an “intelligent…extremely selfless and very kind person”.

She told the inquiry that it is a “solace” to her family that Dawn’s daughter was not killed in the incident. Russia denies any involvement and described the inquiry as a “circus”.

It followed the attempted murders of former spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia Skripal and then-police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in Salisbury earlier that year.

All three survived, as did Dawn’s partner Charlie Rowley, who had unwittingly given her the bottle of perfume containing Novichok.

Dawn was the eldest of four, and the mother of three. She would have been a grandmother now, her mum Caroline said, but will never have the “joy” of meeting her grandchild.

Caroline read out a statement to the hearing from Dawn’s daughter, whose identity is being protected due to her age.

“Me and my mum had a bond that I would never forget,” she wrote in the statement.

“The day I heard she had fallen really ill was heart-breaking to hear. In my mind, I thought she would push through it, because there was nothing my mum couldn’t handle.

“One thing that I will never forget was due to my age, I never got to see her, or got to say my goodbyes.”