Family of Dawn Sturgess 'told not to touch coffin' because of Novichok, inquiry hears
The family of a woman killed by a "deadly military grade nerve agent" were not able to hold the funeral they wanted for her, an inquiry has heard.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being exposed to the Russian chemical weapon Novichok in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in July 2018.
At an inquiry being held into her death in Salisbury, Adam Straw KC, counsel on behalf of Ms Sturgess' family, said: “Because of the Novichok, the family were not allowed to bury Dawn’s body as they wished, and were told not to touch the coffin – she had to be cremated."
Ms Sturgess had been given a bottle of what appeared to be Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume, by her partner, Charlie Rowley, on Saturday 30 June 2018.
Ms Sturgess sprayed the liquid in the bottle on herself, not realising it contained a "specific type of highly pure Novichok", so deadly that it had the potential to "kill thousands".
Within a short period of time, Ms Sturgess said she felt peculiar, before collapsing into the bathroom where Mr Rowley found her "lying in the bath fully clothed" with "pinpoint pupils". She was "convulsing and drooling at the mouth,” Mr Straw said.
She was taken unconscious to Salisbury District Hospital and her family visited her while she was in a coma and on life support, the inquiry heard.
It was told Ms Sturgess never regained consciousness – on 4 July blood tests confirmed she had been poisoned by Novichok and on 8 July she was taken off life support and died.
Speaking at the inquiry, which started on Monday 14 October, Mr Straw added that Ms Sturgess' family want Russian President Vladimir Putin to be invited to give evidence.
Mr Straw said told the inquiry on Monday afternoon the family “invite the chair to call Mr Putin as a witness, to give oral evidence to the inquiry”.
It comes after Mr Straw referred to a witness statement by Jonathan Allen, a senior Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official, in which he said it is the Government’s view that Mr Putin “authorised the operation”.
Mr Straw added: “He should look Dawn’s family in the eyes and answer the evidence against him.”
Lord Hughes of Ombersley, the inquiry’s chairman, said it was “an intriguing suggestion”, and asked: “Have I any power whatsoever to enforce it?”
"No, I'm afraid not", Mr Straw replied.
Ms Sturgess’ family have also said they want to know why doctors initially thought her symptoms were caused by a drug overdose, Mr O’Connor KC said.
Her added the family wish to know “whether any of the things that may have gone wrong in Dawn’s treatment could have made a difference to her chances of survival”, adding: “To use a legal term – if there were failings, were they causative?”
Wiltshire Police has since apologised to the family for wrongly identifying her condition as an overdose on the basis she was a “well known drug addict” after she was poisoned, the inquiry was told.
Michael Mansfield KC, counsel on behalf of the family of Ms Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, told the inquiry the information was false and “there was no intelligence that Dawn was a drug user”.
He added: “Wiltshire Police now accept that Dawn should not have been characterised as a drug user, and it was an error that she was. Wiltshire Police have apologised to Dawn’s family for their error.”
Ms Sturgess came into contact with Novichok just a few months after the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury.
The inquiry continues.