Former DS Nick Bailey suing Wiltshire Police
"We hope to come to a resolution very soon" - Lawyers
Last updated 12th May 2021
Former Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey is suing his former employers Wiltshire Police after the Novichok incident.
Nick fell seriously ill after being the first person to enter the home of Sergei Skripal after the Russian Spy and his daughter were found poisoned in Salisbury in 2018.
Earlier this month, Lawyers acting for the former officer lodged a case against Kier Pritchard, the Chief Constable of the force, as a Personal Injury claim under**** "injury at work".
Patrick Maguire, partner at national law firm Horwich Cohen Coghlan, who is representing Mr Bailey, said:
"It has been a challenging three years for everyone affected by the events of March 2018.
Our client experienced a trauma which had a devastating effect on his family and forced him to leave the job he loved after more than 18 years of loyal service.
We hope to come to a resolution very soon with Wiltshire Police so that Mr Bailey and his family can continue the process of healing and move forwards with their lives."
The case comes after Mr Bailey left the force in October last year after making three attempts to go back to work.
However he said he he "couldn't deal with being in a police environment" after the traumatic incident.
Talking to Greatest Hits Radio Salisbury in April, Nick said he hit a low point last year:
"You get to a certain point where you realise you are not in a good place and you are suffering from depression. It kind of crept on me and tapped me on the shoulder.
I joined the Police because I wanted to do good things and do right by good people and that's still ingrained in me whether I'm in the Police or not. If I can do something good in this setting by talking and sharing my story and sharing what I learned about myself to others and if that helps other people then that's a good thing."
In December 2020, Nick's wife Sarah took to Twitter to say that the former Detective Sergeant was still fighting for part of his pension.
Wiltshire Police declined to comment for legal reasons.