Novichok

[Louis the fly]

The poisoning of four people in and around the Salisbury area with the deadly nerve agent Novichok is one of the great mysteries which will be talked about for many years to come.
Sergei Skripal , a former Russian spy and double agent , and his daughter Yulia were exposed to the nerve agent by it being smeared or sprayed onto the handle of Sergei's front door , police believe. It is unclear how the person responsible for this did not contaminate himself. Novickok is highly contagious , spread through contact.

The Skripals left the house to drive into Salisbury for drinks in a pub and lunch at a nearby restaurant using cash or credit cards. They used glasses , plates and cutlery yet none of the staff working that day suffered any ill effects.

A little while later the couple were found unconscious on a bench a short walk from the restaurant. An ambulance was called and after extensive hospital tests it was discovered they had been poisoned with Novichok. A police officer who had come to their aid was also later found to have been poisoned. It is a mystery how the ambulance crew and the doctors and nurses who would have been in very close contact with the couple escaped contamination.

The police and forensics experts launched a widespread search for the source of the poisoning all wearing white anti contagion suits , gloves , boots , hoods with face masks and an air supply.

The Skripals and the police officer recovered from the nerve agent and were discharged from hospital. Only Yulia has given a brief interview to the media , nothing has been seen or heard of Sergei or the police officer. The Foreign Office refused to grant a visa for Yulia's female cousin to visit her in the UK.

Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley , who were described as alcoholics and drug addicts , found a perfume bottle in a park they used to drink and meet friends. Both were poisoned with the same batch of Novichok as the Skripals. Dawn Sturgess died in hospital , Charlie Rowley recovered and was discharged but has recently been readmitted to the same hospital. Police cars and ambulances have been buried in landfill sites.

As a double agent Sergei must have had many enemy's , he had served a prison sentence in Russia for spying , but lived openly in the UK. The whereabouts of him and his daughter are unknown.

Novichok was first produced in Russia and Russia is accused of this nerve agent attack on UK soil. The Russians offered to send a team of scientists to help in the investigation but their offer was refused. They have also been refused permission to examine the nerve agent samples.

A mystery with so many unanswered questions. Why were some poisoned and others not ? Why would the Russians want to kill Sergei when he had already been in their custody and released ? Why was this attack carried out in such an amateurish manner ?

Over to you Sherlock.

[Keith Tindell]

This just braking news, kt
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45421445

[Louis the fly]

I have just watched the PM give a long statement to the Commons out lining a compelling case of Russian involvement in the Salisbury Novichok poisoning. I have no reason to doubt her.

She named the two Russian suspects , gave a detailed account of their movements , and said they are intelligence officers of the GBU formally known as KBG.

For trained intelligence officers they showed a complete lack of intelligence in leaving behind a trail of evidence. The use of Novichok produced in Russia , the perfume bottle containing the nerve agent left in the park , not disposed of. Why not a staged car accident or hit and run in a stolen car ? They must have known the serious repercussions of the poisoning if traced back to Russia. Yet the PM said the attack must have sanctioned by the highest levels of the Russian government. Russia now faces the most severe sanctions from the EU and US.

The PM did not explain how others had escaped poisoning after close contact with the Skripals or how the attack had been carried out. I am certain there is much more to this story than will ever be revealed.

[Shaun Gander]

As a paramedic in a previous 'life' I would suggest the reason no medical staff were contaminated is likely due to the anally retentive practice of protecting yourself from anything and everything a patients has... gloves, masks, eye protection, etc.

SDG

[happy daze john in oz]

Heard your PM on our radio today.

But no matter how much the UK gov try there is no way Russia will enter into an extradition treaty with any country.
No doubt the two involved have now been given new names and spirited away somewhere, maybe Siberia?

[John Pruden]

john both of them most probably will have been assassinated by now dead men tell no tails mate. jp

[Louis the fly]

As a paramedic in a previous 'life' I would suggest the reason no medical staff were contaminated is likely due to the anally retentive practice of protecting yourself from anything and everything a patients has... gloves, masks, eye protection, etc.

SDG

Shaun the staff at the pub and the restaurant served the couple , handled their cash or credit card , took away the glasses and plates they had used , cleaned the tables after they left.
No staff or customers were contaminated by the deadly nerve agent. Nothing makes sense in this story.

[Trampshipman]

Louis

The part of your narrative which gives me much room for thought is the question "Why was the attack carried out in such amateurish fashion" ?

We live today in a highly sophisticated world with all sorts of built in safety measures [or so we are told] including the nuclear super deterrent against world war. Yet it now seems that two people may possibly have been poisoned quite unintentionally due only to a simple mistake or act of carelessness. [The throwing away of the poison bottle]. That agents employed in `Black Ops` by a super power such as Russia in this case can be so careless certainly is something of concern. It illustrates to me anyway that quite possibly a world conflagration could maybe be triggered as a result of such a silly mistake. After all, we are already living in a world of lunatics. As a young man I certainly could not envisage a future in which world leaders and statesmen [I`m thinking here of the North Korean guy versus Trump] would actually be thumbing their noses at each other and indulging in childish name calling.

Its a mad mad world !

[happy daze john in oz]

Then of course out of left field maybe it was not Russia.
as you say to just chuck the bottle away like that is bit silly.
Was it Russia, or was it some other body who just wanted to make it look that way.


All this now about 'we know who they were, when they arrived and left'?

All smells a bit off to me.

[Louis the fly]

As a former colonel in the Russian intelligence agency Sergei Skripal is experienced in the dark arts. His spying activities would have made him careful of his own safety and security.
What measures did he take to protect his house ? Were CCTV cameras installed ?