Dawn Sturgess's family respond to findings of final report into her death
Her family say there must be "reflection and change" as they criticised the lack of recommendations in a public inquiry's final report
Last updated 12 hours ago
The family of Dawn Sturgess have responded to the findings of the final report from the public inquiry into her death, expressing concerns over the absence of recommendations .
44-year-old Sturgess from Amesbury, Wiltshire, died in July 2018 after being exposed to a bottle of perfume that contained the nerve agent Novichok, which had been used in an assassination attempt in Salisbury months earlier.
The report, led by chairman Lord Hughes of Ombersley, reviewed events surrounding Sturgess's death which followed the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, Yulia Skripal, and then police officer Nick Bailey who were poisoned in Salisbury in March 2018.
The inquiry's final report deemed Russian intelligence agents morally responsible for her death and said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "astonishingly reckless", concluding that the attempted assassination of Mr Skripal “must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin”.
Ms Sturgess’s father, Stan Sturgess, told reporters: "We can have Dawn back now, she's been public for seven years.
"We can finally put her to peace".
According to the report, a GRU military intelligence squad smeared the nerve agent on Mr Skripal’s door handle in a "public demonstration of Russian power."
Following the report’s release, the UK Foreign Office announced sanctions targeting Russia's GRU military intelligence agency in its entirety, along with 11 individuals linked to state-sponsored activities.
The sanctions also target eight cyber military intelligence officers working for the GRU, which was responsible for cyber operations targeting Ms Skripal with X-agent malware and, five years later, the attempted murder of her and her father.
A further three GRU officers were designated for orchestrating plots elsewhere in Europe, including planning a terror attack on Ukrainian supermarkets.
Moscow's ambassador has also been summoned to the Foreign office.
Ms Sturgess's family said it was concerning that the report contained "no recommendations" and that an "adequate risk assessment of Mr Skripal was not done" and "no protective steps were put in place".
In a statement, they said:
"Today's report has left us with some answers, but also a number of unanswered questions.
"We have always wanted to ensure that what happened to Dawn will not happen to others; that lessons should be learned; and that meaningful changes should be made.
"The report today contains no recommendations. That is a matter of real concern.
"There should, there must, be reflection and real change."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the report's findings as "a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives."
In a statement, he said:
"Dawn's needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia’s reckless aggression.
"The UK will always stand up to Putin’s brutal regime and call out his murderous machine for what it is.
"Today’s sanctions are the latest step in our unwavering defence of European security, as we continue to squeeze Russia’s finances and strengthen Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table."