Salisbury Novichok poisoning: Russian 'hit men' charged over nerve agent attack

Two Russians were today charged with carrying out the Salisbury Novichok poisonings in a dramatic breakthrough in the investigation.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov — believed to be aliases — are accused of the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey.

Police said they believe the pair flew into Gatwick two days before the attack, when they checked into the City Stay Hotel in Bow, east London. They then travelled to Salisbury to carry out a reconnaissance mission, and the attack itself the following day.

They used a specially adapted counterfeit Nina Ricci perfume bottle to smear the nerve agent on the door of Mr Skripal’s home, officers said.

No charges have been brought over the death of Dawn Sturgess or the poisoning of Charlie Rowley. This is because police still have to establish how the perfume bottle reached the charity bin where Mr Rowley believes he found it.

The Russians flew back to Moscow out of Heathrow on the night of the poisoning. A series of CCTV images were released showing the men at both London airports, in Bow, and in Salisbury, as counterterrorism officers set out the most conclusive evidence so far of Russian involvement.

Announcing the breakthrough today, Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said that no extradition request would be made for the two men because of Mosofcow’s past refusal to comply with such orders.

However, she said that European Arrest Warrants had been issued to allow for their detention if they travelled again, and that prosecutors were satisfied that there was a realistic prospect of conviction if they could ever be put before a court.

Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that both men had travelled on genuine Russian passports and had visited the UK before the trip to poison the Skripals.

He said that detectives had intelligence and leads about the pair’s true identity, but said he was making a worldwide appeal to anyone who recognised them to help officers confirm who the pair’s true identites.

Mr Basu added the poisoning was a “remarkably sophisticated attack” and a “clear assassination attempt”.

The poisoning of the Skripals had now been conclusively linked to the later incident in which Ms Sturgess, 44, died and her partner Mr Rowley was injured after inadvertently coming into contact with the nerve agent.

Mr Basu also released a comprehensive timeline of the movements of the Russians compiled after analysis of 11,000 hours of CCTV.

He said the two would-be assassins arrived at Gatwick on a flight from Moscow at 3pm on Friday, March 2, two days before the Skripals were poisoned.

The pair, who are believed to have brought the Novichok with them in the perfume bottle, travelled by train to Victoria and then by public transport to Waterloo.

They spent an hour there before going to the City Stay Hotel, where they stayed for the next two nights.

On the Saturday they travelled to Waterloo and from there to Salisbury in an apparent reconnaissance mission.

After returning to London to stay overnight, the following day they went again early in the morning to Salisbury where they were captured several times on CCTV, before boarding a train back to London and then going to Heathrow to catch an Aeroflot flight back to Mosow the same night.

The charges brought today against the two Russians are that they conspired to murder Mr Skripal, 67, and that they attempted to murder him, his daughter Yulia, 33, and Mr Bailey, who fell seriously ill after trying to help the stricken Skripals.

The Russians are also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Ms Skripal and Mr Bailey.

Announcing the charging decisions, Ms Hemming, the CPS’s director of legal services, said:

“Prosecutors from the CPS Counter Terrorism Division have considered the evidence and have concluded there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and it is clearly in the public interest to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who are Russian nationals.

“We will not be applying to Russia for the extradition of these men as the Russian constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals. Russia has made this clear following requests for extradition in other cases. Should this position change then an extradition request would be made.

“We have, however, obtained a European Arrest Warrant which means that if either man travels to a country where an EAW is valid, they will be arrested and face extradition on these charges for which there is no statute of limitations.”

Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the country’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, said: “Today marks the most significant moment so far in what has been one of the most complex and intensive investigations we have undertaken in Counter Terrorism policing; the charging of two suspects – both Russian nationals - in relation to the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

This has been a highly complex investigation for UK policing, which would have been impossible without the great staff and abilities of the UK Intelligence Community and the support of the Government.

My thoughts remain with Dawn Sturgess’s family as they come to terms with their loss, the other victims who fell seriously ill after being exposed to a Novichok nerve agent and the people of Salisbury who have shown tremendous resilience throughout.”

With regard to the investigation into the later poisonings, detectives are continuing their public appeal for information and hope that today’s publication of images of the bottle and its packaging might bring new information that can help to bring additional charges.

On the continuing risk to public safety, police remain concerned about the possibility that some Novichok could still be unaccounted for and are warning the public in the Salisbury area to avoid picking up any unknown items.

In London, Dame Sally Davies, the country’s top public health official, said she was confident that there was no risk to anyone using public transport or the airports, and that those who might have travelled next to the two Russians should similarly not be in any health danger.

The room where the pair stayed at the City Stay Hotel has also been declared safe.

Police and health officials said, however, that anyone who stayed there between March 4 and May 4 — when police sealed it off after discovering that the Russians had used it — could contact a helpline for reassurance.