Former Prime Minister Theresa May says justice is “highly unlikely to happen” for those affected by the Salisbury poisonings six years ago.
During a podcast covering the inquiry into the Salisbury poisonings, Baroness May says she hopes the family of Wiltshire woman Dawn Sturgess, who was killed by the Russian nerve agent in 2018, “will take some comfort” from the public inquiry into her death.
She said: “I would hope by the end of it the family and friends of Dawn Sturgess feel it has got to the truth."
The public inquiry comes after Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she was exposed to Novichok in Amesbury in July 2018. The nerve agent had been stored in a discarded perfume bottle.
READ MORE: Skripals will not give evidence at Salisbury poisonings inquiry over attack risk
It followed the attempted murders of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018, as well as the poisoning of ex-police officer DS Nick Bailey. All three survived, as did Ms Sturgess’ boyfriend Charlie Rowley.
Baroness May, who was Prime Minister at the time of the poisonings, said she felt “huge sadness” at the time about the death of the British citizen Ms Sturgess, but believes the death toll "could have been so many more" based on the quantity of Novichok discovered, accusing the Russian State of "utter recklessness".
She added: "The use of this and what appears to be the casual discarding, you felt they just didn't care about anything."
Within a week of the 2018 attack on the Skripals, the UK government pointed the finger at the Russian government – later convincing dozens of countries to follow the UK’s lead in expelling Russian intelligence officers on diplomatic passports.
“We had to be certain of our ground”, said Baroness May, describing the “hearing a pin-drop” moment she stood in the House of Commons to accuse Russia. “It’s why we took our time” to establish the facts and avoid “rash declarations”.
“In today’s world this is one of the things that can be quite difficult, there is this genuine desire from the public to know everything that’s happening and to hear about things almost immediately”.
The original inquest into Ms Sturgess’ death was opened in 2021, but due to the need to hear highly classified evidence it was handed over to become a public inquiry which begins in Salisbury on Monday.
“Closure to all the people affected would only finally come with justice, and that justice is highly unlikely to happen”, Baroness May said.
The interview comes from The Salisbury Poisonings, a podcast on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Wiltshire, twice a week from Friday, October 11.
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